Three dead, including suspect, after man cuts throat of Arkansas officer

A man was fatally shot Sunday after he stabbed a police officer in the throat and bludgeoned his teenage son with a rock, authorities in Arkansas said.

Another person died after an “extremely violent attack” in the home where officers in Fort Smith were called early Sunday, Police Chief Danny Baker told reporters.

Baker identified the suspect as Christopher Conner, 40.

An officer who responded to a report of screaming and yelling in a residential area near the Oklahoma state line found Conner at an intersection, hitting a person later identified as his 15-year-old son in the head and the face with a rock, Baker said.

When an officer ordered him to stop, Baker said, Conner initially complied, and the officer moved to restrain him. Conner then used an “edged weapon” to stab the officer in the throat and the neck, Baker said.

The officer, who was not named publicly and began working with the police department 16 months ago, fired his service weapon at Conner twice, killing him, Baker said. After undergoing surgery for serious lacerations, the officer was recovering, Baker said.

The teenager was pronounced dead at a hospital after suffering multiple stab wounds and blunt force trauma, Baker said.

Inside the home where the other attack occurred, officers discovered the body of Julia Marie Moore, 42, who had been stabbed repeatedly, Baker said. A 5-year-old child was also found unharmed.

Moore’s relationship to Conner wasn’t immediately clear, nor was a possible motive.

The officer who fired the fatal shots will be placed on paid administrative leave while State Police investigate, Baker said.