An elderly man in Virginia reportedly bludgeoned his 76-year-old wife with a hatchet before taking his own life with a chainsaw.
WRC reported that the unidentified 70-year-old attacked his wife at their Springfield home at around 3:30 p.m on Wednesday. Authorities said a stepdaughter managed to enter the two-story home and witnessed the man beating the woman with the blunt side of the object. The stepdaughter got the wife to safety outside with the suspect following not far behind.
Police claimed that a struggle ensued outside, resulting in the stepdaughter gaining possession of the hatchet and the man retreating into the residence.
POLICE RADIO: “Get me a trauma kit up here! Get me a trauma kit!” – Fairfax County Police officer shouts into radio during domestic chainsaw attack call in Springfield neighborhood. pic.twitter.com/XH1pvsIwWl
— Kevin Lewis (@ABC7Kevin) November 1, 2017
As law enforcement created a perimeter in preparation for a possible standoff, an officer was heard yelling “Get me a trauma kit up here! Get me a trauma kit!” over the radio, according to WJLA.
Responding officers allegedly found the 70-year-old in the garage with life-threatening injuries. The wounded man was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Authorities later revealed that the man died of self-inflicted injuries from a chainsaw.
“I saw them finding the older gentleman and brought him to the garage, put him on the ground and he was bleeding tremendously from this part of his body. He looked really bad and they worked on him for maybe 10 to 15 minutes, and then they took him away,” neighbor Zury Bradcovich told WTTG.
The wife was hospitalized for neck and face lacerations that weren’t life-threatening in nature, the local station reported.
It’s currently unclear whether drugs or alcohol played a role in Wednesday’s deadly incident. Police are withholding the husband’s name to protect the wife’s identity.
[Featured Image: WTTG (video screenshot)]
