HollyMatkinSpringfield, VA – A horrific scene unfolded in Fairfax County on Wednesday afternoon when a man beat his wife with an ax, before killing himself with a chainsaw.
Police responded to the man’s home after receiving a report of a domestic dispute involving a weapon, WTOP reported.
The plea for help came from the couple’s daughter, who forcibly entered the home and witnessed the man hitting her mother 76-year-old mother with the dull side of an ax, WRC-TV said.
“The family member was able to rescue the victim, bring her outside,” Fairfax County Police Officer Reem Awad told WTTG .
The 70-year-old man followed the pair outside, and his daughter was unable to get the ax away from him during the struggle. The man then retreated back into the house.
Authorities planned to start talks with the man as soon as they arrived on the scene.
In preparation for a possible standoff, police established a perimeter in the neighborhood.
That’s when one officer saw the man on the garage floor with critical injuries.
That officer shouted into his radio, “Get me a trauma kit up here! Get me a trauma kit!” WJLA reported.
“One officer was able to see inside the garage where the suspect was located on the floor,” Officer Awad told WTTG. “He appeared to have life-threatening injuries to the upper body. He has since died from those injuries. They appear to be caused by a chainsaw.”
Officers’ attempted to keep him alive, but were unsuccessful.
“I could see that the lady was really confused and kind of like in shock, and her hands was probably injured, cut,” neighbor Zury Bradcovich said.
“Then I saw them finding the older gentlemen and brought him to the garage, put him on the ground and he was bleeding tremendously from this part of his body. He looked really bad and they worked on him for maybe 10 to 15 minutes, and then they took him away,” Bradcovich said.
The man was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His wife was expected to recover from her injuries.