Fairfax police shot and killed a man inside a home in McLean, Virginia on Thursday night, after responding to the residence for a call of a person “in crisis.”
At a press briefing early Friday morning, officials offered little detail on the man, his connection to the home, or the circumstances of the shooting. The three responding officers were wearing body cameras, according to Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis, and the footage will be released within 30 days in accordance with department policy.
Late Friday night, officials identified the man as Jasper Aaron Lynch, 26.
Police initially received a call around 7:11 p.m. from a family friend of Lynch’s for a “man in crisis” at a home located on Arbor Lane, according to Davis. The family friend reported that Lynch was inside the home and pacing.
Officers and a mental health clinician were dispatched to the house, but when they arrived at 7:26 p.m., Lynch had left. According to Major Eli Cory, the mental health clinician spoke with the people who made the initial call and spoke with Lynch’s family by phone.
Around 8:34 p.m., police received another call from the home, and three officers arrived at the residence. The mental health clinician did not accompany the officers on the second call, according to Davis, who said “the nature of the second call was far different from the nature of the first call.” (He did not elaborate further on what was said during the second call.)
Department policy requires that the name of the officer who shot Lynch be released within 10 days, unless there is a “credible threat” to their safety. According to police, they are a 10-year veteran, assigned to the McLean District Station.
Fairfax County’s Major Crimes Bureau will be conducting a criminal investigation into the first call, Davis said, and the police department’s Internal Affairs Bureau will evaluate the officer’s behavior and use of deadly force. More information on the man will be released within 30 days, according to Davis, as the body-worn camera footage is made public.
The shooting marks the third police shooting in Fairfax County in the past week. On June 30, Fairfax police shot and killed a man in the parking lot of a shopping center in Springfield, and on Tuesday, Herndon Police shot and wounded a man near the Dulles Park Shopping Center, while attempting to stop an alleged car theft.
This story has been updated with information from a Fairfax County Police press release issued on Friday evening.
Colleen Grablick