Pentagon law enforcement officer dies in unprovoked knife attack

A Pentagon law enforcement officer died soon after an assailant stabbed him with a knife in an unprovoked attack Tuesday morning, according to an update from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Washington Area Workplace.

The officer, identified as George Gonzales, served with the Pentagon Force Security Agency given that 2018 and attained the rank of senior officer in 2020.

Gonzales was a armed service and police veteran who had served earlier with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Transportation Security Administration and United States Army.

He also received a Army Commendation Medal for his company in Iraq.

The assailant, determined as Austin Lanz, exited a bus at the Pentagon Transit Centre about 10:40 a.m. and promptly attacked Gonzales, according to the FBI update posted on Twitter Wednesday.

Lanz mortally wounded Gonzales and then shot himself with the officer’s gun, according to the FBI. Other officers then engaged Lanz, who died at the scene.

Lanz experienced enlisted in the Maritime Corps in Oct 2012 but was booted out fewer than a month afterwards, The Connected Push claimed Wednesday.

In April of this 12 months, Lanz was also arrested in Georgia on criminal trespassing and theft fees, and faced an added six fees that incorporate battery on law enforcement and generating a terrorist threat, according to The Associated Press.

At the time of the shooting, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Employees, were being at the White House for a meeting with President Joe Biden.

Austin expressed his condolences for the dying of the officer in a statement Tuesday, and stated the flags at the Pentagon Reservation would fly at 50 %-mast in honor of his reduction.

“This fallen officer died in the line of obligation, supporting defend the tens of thousands of persons who work in — and who take a look at — the Pentagon on a day-to-day foundation,” Austin mentioned in the statement.

“He and his fellow officers are users of the Pentagon spouse and children, and recognised to us all as experienced, proficient and courageous. This tragic death these days is a stark reminder of the hazards they confront and the sacrifices they make,” he ongoing.

Milley also issued a statement Tuesday that prolonged his condolences to the late officer’s family members and commended him for his function.

“We are permanently grateful for the professionalism, commitment and courage he and each individual officer show to guarantee the basic safety and nicely-currently being of all of us who provide at the Pentagon,” Milley stated.

White Property push secretary Jen Psaki, also presented condolences to Gonzalez’s family members throughout a Wednesday push briefing.

“His existence was just one of support,” Psaki reported. “He missing his everyday living safeguarding those who shield the country.”

The Pentagon was placed on lockdown Tuesday early morning after quite a few gunshots were fired in the vicinity of the creating, but it reopened soon after much more than an hour.

Woodrow Kusse, the law enforcement chief of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, stated at a press meeting Tuesday that authorities are not seeking for a further suspect: “The incident is above, the scene is safe, and most importantly, there is no continuing threat to our group,” he claimed.

The previous time a substantial incident occurred at the Pentagon Metro Center was in 2010, according to Kusse. 

A gunman opened fire at the Pentagon entrance and wounded two officers with the Pentagon Power Defense Company in March 2010. The officers, who survived, fatally shot the guy quickly following.