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Woodbridge resident Philip Austin Brant, 26, has been identified by investigators as the suspect who was shot and killed by officers after stabbing two people - one fatally - at an apprenticeship training center on Infantry Ridge Road in Manassas.
Officers were called shortly before 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 13 to investigate a reported stabbing-in-progress after two people were attacked by Brant, police say. Upon arrival, they ordered him to drop the knife at the entrance of the building, but he made a move toward them and two officers opened fire.
Brant was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to the department, it is believed that the initial stabbing happened in a classroom inside the center when Brant took a knife out of his backpack and stabbed his first victim repeatedly, sending other students scattering.
At one point, Brant allegedly left the classroom and stabbed a second person, who collapsed in the parking lot.
Both victims - Manassas resident Elijah Islam Safadi, 23, and a 23-year-old man from Fairfax County - were taken to the area hospital, where Safidi died of his injuries and the other remains hospitalized in critical condition on Wednesday morning.
More details are expected to be released as the investigation into the incident continues.
Both officers involved in the shooting were placed on routine paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. They had five years and 1.5 years of service with the uniformed patrol operations division.
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