A Fairfax County police commander has been demoted as part of an ongoing administrative investigation of suicides by a department recruit and his wife that occurred hours apart in their Mount Vernon-area home in late February, authorities said.

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       County police declined to make public the exact rank or name of the officer, but described the move in a statement as a “leadership change.” The officer was the on-scene commander during the incident.

       Police said personnel rules precluded them from identifying the officer or disclosing what specifically led to the demotion since the inquiry was administrative in nature, not criminal. The probe was ordered by Police Chief Kevin Davis.

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       “While the internal affairs investigation is an administrative matter that remains active, Chief Davis has made changes in leadership with the demotion of the on scene commander,” the statement read. “The FCPD remains committed to the delivery of world class public safety services to our community.”

       Fairfax County police chief orders internal probe of recruit, wife

       The events that sparked the internal investigation began on Feb. 19, when officers were called to a home in the 4200 block of Sonia Court for a report of a shooting, police said. Officers found the recruit’s wife with a gunshot wound. She was taken to a hospital, where she died.

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       Multiple guns were found inside the home.

       A medical examiner has ruled the woman’s death a suicide, police said. The woman’s name was not released by police.

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       Shortly after officers left the home, around 1:30 the next morning, the recruit called 911, police said. When officers returned, they found him suffering from a gunshot wound and he was pronounced dead.

       A medical examiner ruled the recruit’s death a suicide, police said.

       Davis ordered the internal affairs investigation to determine how the incident was handled and whether the guns in the home should have been seized under a Virginia red-flag law that allows firearms to be taken from those who might be a danger to themselves or others.

       In a departmental email at the time, Davis wrote that he wants to “determine if our leadership performance was in compliance with my expectations.”

       The recruit was scheduled to attend the Fairfax County police academy in the weeks after his suicide, police said.