FBI identifies police officer, attacker killed in violence outside Pentagon
The Defense Department on Wednesday identified the police officer who was killed in an attack outside the Pentagon on Tuesday as George Gonzalez, an Army veteran and member of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency.
The fatal incident began around 10:40 on Tuesday, when an individual exited a bus at the transit center just outside the Pentagon and, without provocation, attacked Gonzalez with a knife, the FBI said Wednesday. In the ensuing struggle, the attacker "mortally wounded" Gonzalez and then shot himself with the police officer's service weapon, according to the bureau.
Other police officers then engaged the attacker, who died on the scene, according to the FBI. A civilian bystander was also injured during the incident, and was transported to a hospital with "non-life-threatening injuries." The bystander was later released.
The FBI, which is leading the investigation into the incident, identified the attacker as Austin William Lanz, age 27, most recently from Acworth, Ga.
POLITICO first reported early Wednesday that the attacker was shot on the scene and did not enter the Pentagon building, which was placed on lockdown. The building reopened about an hour and a half later, after officers secured the scene.
“I extend my deepest sympathies to the family, loved ones and colleagues of the Pentagon Force Protection Officer who died as a result of injuries he received this morning,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement Tuesday night, noting that an investigation remains underway.
Austin has ordered the flags flown on the Pentagon Reservation to half-staff in honor of the officer’s death.
Gonzalez joined the Pentagon Force Protection Agency on July 22, 2018, according to a statement sent out Wednesday morning. A recipient of the Army Commendation Medal for his service in Iraq, Gonzalez previously served with the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Transportation Security Administration. He was a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and "a die-hard Yankees fan."
"A gregarious officer, he was well-liked and respected by his fellow officers," according to the Wednesday statement. "Officer Gonzalez embodied our values of integrity and service to others."
