Suspect who stabbed, killed Pentagon officer identified

August 4, 2021 carleyshaffer1 US 0

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – AUGUST 03: Emergency first responders investigate the scene of a shooting with multiple victims at a mass transit station outside the Pentagon on August 03, 2021 in Arlington, Virginia. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 10:21 AM PT – Wednesday, August 4, 2021

The suspect who is believed to have killed a Pentagon officer has been identified. Law enforcement officials identified the suspect on Tuesday as 27-year-old Austin William Lanz.

Lanz is originally from Georgia and has been arrested multiple times in the state for differing charges. He was enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 2012, but according to the branch, he was administratively separated less than a month later and was never given the title of Marine.

The 27-year-old allegedly attacked a Pentagon officer, stabbing and killing him. The suspect was shot and pronounced dead at the scene.

The Pentagon police officer died after the incident that occurred outside the Defense Department headquarters. Officials said the attack happened Tuesday morning on a metro bus platform.

@PFPAOfficial mourns the tragic loss of a Pentagon Police Officer killed during this morning’s incident at the Pentagon. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Officer’s family. Additional info on the officer will be forthcoming, following full next of kin notification.

— Pentagon Force Protection Agency (Official) (@PFPAOfficial) August 3, 2021

Reports added the officer was ambushed by the suspect and stabbed in the neck later confirming his death. The Pentagon was temporarily placed on lockdown and the public was ordered to stay away from the area.

During a Defense Department briefing, authorities said the investigation was still ongoing and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had been placed in charge. Chief of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency Woodrow Kusse gave remarks as to the status of the incident during the briefing.

Kusse also responded to a question regarding the Pentagon metro entrance that asked if additional force protection measures would be necessary due to the incident. He said there were a number of measures in place already, but that they would reevaluate.

Additional details on the officer have not yet been released. In the meantime, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered flags on the Pentagon reservation be flown at half-staff “in honor of his loss.”