A Fairfax County police officer shot a woman who threatened officers with a knife Monday evening as they responded to a call at a group home for the intellectually disabled in Springfield, police said.

       Support our journalism. Subscribe today. arrow-right

       The approximately 30-year-old woman, who was not identified, was rushed to the hospital, where she was in critical condition Monday night, Fairfax County police said.

       The incident began shortly before 5:30 p.m. when a caregiver called police to report the woman was threatening to harm herself and others at the group home in the 8000 block of Gosport Lane, police said. Four people were in the home at the time.

       Two Fairfax County police officers arrived at the home and made their way inside through a back door in an incident that was captured on their body cameras, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said at a news conference.

       Advertisement

       Story continues below advertisement

       “They were immediately confronted by a woman who was armed with a large knife,” Davis said, describing the video. “She told the officers, ‘I’m not going to stop.’ She told the officers she was going to kill them.”

       Davis said the officers demanded that the woman drop the knife, before she began advancing on them. At that point, Davis said, one of the officers opened fire on the woman, striking her in the abdomen. Davis said the officers immediately rendered aid. The woman was transported to a nearby hospital.

       Fairfax County police said they will eventually release the body-camera footage of the shooting and the 911 call that prompted the response. The name of the officer who fired was not immediately released, but Davis described him as a veteran officer. Police said he was assigned to a special operations K-9 unit.

       None of the officers or other residents of the home were injured in the incident.