FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (7News) — CONTENT WARNING: The body camera video released by police and shown in this story depicts graphic images. Discretion is advised.
Last month, a man was shot dead by a Fairfax County police officer after stabbing three of his family members inside an apartment.
Police released body camera video Thursday from the officers who responded, along with 911 calls and new details about the harrowing crime.
54-year-old Chhatra Thapa was identified as the man responsible for stabbing his wife, Binda, his daughter, Mamta, and his son-in-law on Feb. 23. Binda and Mamta died from their injuries, and his son-in-law was left in critical condition.
READ | Man ‘butchering’ his family inside Fairfax County apartment fatally shot by police
Police Chief Kevin Davis reflected back on that day, calling it a “bloodbath.” He said by the time the officers entered the apartment, two lives had already been taken.
“I’m convinced, the more I know about what happened on February 23 and certainly the more I watched that video, that if not for the actions of our police officer, heroic, decisive, disciplined actions, that we would have had two more victims on our hands,” Davis said.
Police said the son-in-law was clearing snow off a car outside when he heard a commotion coming from inside the apartment, called 911, and then returned to his unit. That’s when he found “an unimaginable scene of his father-in-law butchering his family.”
The man reportedly saw his father-in-law using what police described as a 10-inch curved dagger resembling a “meat cleaver” to stab his mother-in-law before turning the knife on him.
Last month, a man was shot dead by a Fairfax County police officer after stabbing three of his family members inside an apartment. (FCPD)
In the body camera video, you can hear sounds of screaming as police enter the building and go to the unit. They come upon a woman outside of the the apartment door, suffering from “severe trauma.”
Once making entry into the apartment, officers encounter Thapa armed with a knife, kneeled over his son-in-law. Officers repeated several commands for Thapa to drop the weapon but he did not comply, which lead to the officer shooting him multiple times.
A one-year-old child was also inside the apartment at the time. In the video, you can see police pick the child up and remove him from the scene. The child was not hurt.
“We value every life, and it’s it’s sad, it’s tragic that the patriarch of a family would take the life of his wife and his daughter. So I think we’re still trying to wrap our minds around that.” Davis said.
The officer who shot Chhatra Thapa is a 2.5-year veteran assigned to the Mason District. He was placed on restricted duty pending the outcome of separate criminal and administrative investigations.
“I feel confident saying to you that our young police officer not only saved lives, but he acted in compliance with the law, he acted certainly within our policy,” Davis said.
Police said they still do not know Thapa’s motive for killing his family, and there was no criminal history associated with him. There were also no prior calls for service at the apartment.
“The only thing we do know, and I want to gently talk about this, is that he has a history of some challenges with mental illness,” Davis said.
The baby that was inside the home was placed with Child Protective Services.
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