By Steve Neavling
The FBI is investigating the fatal stabbing of a Pentagon police officer near the Pentagon transit center in Virginia on Tuesday morning.
Responding law enforcement shot and killed the suspect shortly after 10:30 a.m., The Associated Press reports.
The stabbing prompted the temporary lockdown of the Pentagon.
The suspect was Austin William Lanz, 27, of Georgia. Lanz ambushed the officer, stabbing him in the neck, law enforcement officials said.
Details of the attack, including the motive, weren’t immediately clear.
Lanz was “administratively separated” from the U.S. Marine Corps in October 2012, less than a month after he enlisted, according to the Corps.
“This fallen officer died in the line of duty, helping protect the tens of thousands of people who work in — and who visit — the Pentagon on a daily basis,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. “This tragic death today is a stark reminder of the dangers they face and the sacrifices they make. We are forever grateful for that service and the courage with which it is rendered.”
