Pentagon stabbing suspect Austin William Lanz shot HIMSELF with cop’s weapon after ‘unprovoked’ fatal attack, FBI says
THE suspect in the fatal stabbing of a Pentagon police officer used the cop's own gun to shot himself after the "unprovoked attack," according to the FBI.
Austin William Lanz, 27, ambushed George Gonzalez, 30, a Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA) officer, as he patrolled the Pentagon Transit Center on Tuesday morning.
Lanz, a former US Marine trainee who had exited a bus, and Gonzalez struggled before Lanz stabbed the officer reportedly in the neck and then shot himself with Gonzalez's service weapon.
“A struggle ensued, in which the subject mortally wounded Officer Gonzalez and then shot himself with the officer’s service weapon,” the .
Fellow Pentagon police pursued Lanz and reportedly confronted Lanz.
“Other PFPA officers engaged the subject, who ultimately died at the scene,” according to the FBI.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
PFPA Chief Woodrow Kusse confirmed assured that the agency is going to pore over the surveillance footage as part of its security review.
"There are a number of measures that we have in place out there. Every time an incident occurs, whether it's here or anywhere else across the nation or in the world, we do after-action (reports) on those, we examine them, we look for things that we can do to improve," Kusse said.
WHO IS WILLIAM LANZ?
Lanz, 27, from Acworth, Georgia. During the struggle with Gonzalez, the FBI said Lanz shot himself with the officer's weapon.
Other officers "engaged the subject," according to the FBI. Lanz died at the scene.
A bystander was wounded injured in the attack and rushed to a nearby hospital and then released, according to the FBI.
Two individuals were .
The deadly attack , already on edge since the Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol.
The lockdown was lifted after 12pm after the building was deemed secure.
'ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS'
Gonzalez was lauded as an Army veteran who served a tour in Iraq before joining the PFPA in 2018.
"He took our mission of 'protecting those who protect our nation' to heart," the PFPA stated.
The agency described him as a “die-hard” Yankees fan who was "gregarious" and "well-liked and respected by his fellow officers."
Relatives remembered the fallen law enforcement officer as someone who “devoted his life to serving his country,” according to a separate statement from the PFPA.
“He was one of the good guys with a big heart, and we will miss him always,” it continued.
Flags at the Pentagon would be flown at half-staff, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
The White House also saluted Gonzalez for having “lost his life protecting those who protect the nation.”
Meanwhile, .
The Acworth, Georgia native is suspected of getting off a bus before he charged at Gonzalez with the blade.
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OUT ON BAIL
A pending case from April of this year had Lanz facing criminal trespass and burglary charges in Cobb County, Georgia.
He also racked up a separate set of charges on the same day, including two counts of aggravated battery on police, a count of making a terrorist threat, and a charge for rioting in a penal institution.
But a judge reduced Lanz’s bail amount to $30,000 a month later with conditions that he submit to a mental health evaluation and avoid any illegal drug use.
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Lanz had enlisted in the US Marine Corps in October 2012, but officials there confirmed he "was administratively separated less than a month later and never earned the title Marine.”
