Police Shoot Man During Fairfax County Traffic Stop

Fairfax County police shot a man who showed a gun during a traffic stop near Herndon early today, police said.

The man, whose identity was not released, was flown by helicopter to Inova Fairfax Hospital. He was still in surgery just before noon, police said.

Few details were available, but Officer Don Gotthardt, a police spokesman, said the incident began about 3:30 a.m. when two or more police officers responded to a report of a one-car accident near Copper Mine Road and Sunrise Valley Drive. A confrontation ensued, a man from the car produced a handgun, and the officers shot him, Gotthardt said.

Gotthardt did not know whether the man fired his gun, or how many officers fired on him, or how many times the man was hit. Gotthardt also did not know whether the man was the driver or a passenger in the car, which was a Honda.

The officers involved in the shooting probably will be placed on administrative leave and asked to turn in their weapons while the investigation continues, Gotthardt said.