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The 23-year veteran of the Fairfax County Police Force mentored young officers and tutored troubled teens at the former Pimmit Hills Alternative High School when he served as a resource officer.
May 17 marks 16 years since he was killed in the line of duty. Most know him simply as a hero.
On May 8, 2006, an 18-year-old loaded down with several handguns and an AK-47 drove a stolen van into the parking lot of the Sully district police station in Chantilly and opened fire. Garbarino, 53, was sitting in his unmarked patrol car near the end of his shift. He'd already taken off his bullet proof vest for the day when Michael Kennedy began firing at the unsuspecting officer, reports said.
Kennedy fired 12 bullets into Garbarino's car, five of them hitting the Master Officer. Detective Vicky Armel, 40, who was also in the parking lot, immediately returned fire, but Kennedy wheeled on her. She was the first officer in Fairfax County Police history to die by an assailant in the line of duty. She was a mother of two young boys and was married to a fellow Fairfax County detective.
Despite his injuries, Garbarino called out over the police radio to warn others of the attack. His directions were crucial in ending the ambush, his fellow officers recalled years later. Fairfax County officers eventually killed Kennedy in the shootout. Officers pulled Garbarino from his car and rushed him to INOVA Fairfax hospital where he continued the fight for nine days until succumbing to his injuries on May 17.
Michael "Gabby" Garbarino became the second officer to die in the line of duty. He was survived by his wife and two young daughters.
Sixteen years later, the community remembers their sacrifice. The Fairfax County Police Department will make sure of that.
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