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Fairfax police chief helps subdue stabbing suspect

CHANTILLY, Va. (AP) — The police chief of Virginia’s biggest county was injured when subduing a suspect who stabbed two people at a church.

WRC-TV reports that Fairfax County Police Chief Ed Roessler was in a Bible study class at Grace Covenant Church on Saturday when a man walked into the room and stabbed the pastor leading the class.

Roessler and another person disarmed the suspect, police said. Both were injured during the scuffle but are expected to be okay.

The suspect drove an SUV right up to the front entrance of the church before the alleged attack, police said. A K9 searched the vehicle following the arrest.

Police said two people suffered injuries but weren’t considered life threatening.

Police did not immediately release details about the suspect.

School bus emergency? Fairfax County students have a plan to handle it

This story is part of WTOP’s 2026 Back to School coverage. The wheels on the bus will soon be going round and round again in Fairfax County, Virginia, and some of its young riders are learning what to do if there’s an emergency on the way to school. The annual Safety Patrol Training Camp, hosted by Fairfax County Public Schools' Office of Transportation Services, combined hands-on exercises with classroom lessons to teach students how to keep calm during emergencies on buses. The training can feel remarkably realistic, with overturned school buses on their side or completely upside down in the middle of the county bus depot. Other buses, right side up, fill with smoke that is water-based but mimics the intensity of a bus overheating.
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