Four people were hurt on Saturday morning after a man stabbed them before being fatally shot by police in Aspen Hill.
Montgomery County police officers first responded to a stabbing at around 10:30 a.m. at the Unique thrift store on Veirs Mill Road, where they found a female victim. About a minute later, authorities got another call for a stabbing in the 4100 block of Colie Drive.
That street runs behind the thrift store parking lot. The area taped off by police during their investigation included some homes. One of those homes had what appeared to be a yard sale setup outside, with a pop-up tent, collapsible tables and assorted clothes and other items laid out in a display.
Police were told that the two women stabbed on Colie Drive were at that yard sale when they were stabbed.
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A fourth stabbing victim, a man, was found on Colie Avenue.
Two women were stabbed in the neck. One victim had only "superficial" wounds, and one woman had life-threatening injuries, but doctors believe everyone will survive, according to Darren Francke, assistant chief of the management services bureau for the Montgomery County Police Department.
Witnesses in the area of the stabbings told officers that they saw the man heading into a nearby wooded area.
When officers tried to surround the woods, the man came out of the trees and "confronted a police cruiser," Francke said. The officer in the cruiser said he was with the man, and another officer arrived.
Seeing that the man was armed with "a 12-inch butcher knife," that second officer tried to give commands to the suspect, "but he did not comply and then advanced toward the officer while holding the knife," police said in an update Saturday night.
That second officer fired multiple rounds, shooting the man in the 4300 block of Havard Street, police said.
Officers performed first aid on the man after the shooting, but he died at the scene.
Francke said no officers were injured, but they were "shaken up."
Police have not shared any identifying information about the man. A 12-inch-butcher knife was found at the scene and has been collected as evidence.
Right now, police believe the stabbings were "an unprovoked attack," Francke said, with no initial information to indicate that the man knew the victims.
Montgomery County Police will investigate all of the stabbings. The police shooting investigation will be handled by the Independent Investigations Division of the Maryland Attorney General's office, as required by Maryland law.
The medical examiner will perform a toxicology report on the man who died to determine whether he was under the influence when the stabbings took place, but the results of the autopsy and any follow-up fall under the Maryland AG's investigation.
Body camera footage will be released within about 14 days.
Montgomery County Executive Mark Elrich released a statement following the shooting that read in part:
"I want to thank the MCPD officers for their rapid response to the incidents and their dogged pursuit of the suspect," Elrich wrote. "Their efforts very likely prevented further assaults and may well have saved lives."
