‘Bloodbath’: Man using cleaver to ‘butcher’ his family is killed by Fairfax County police

A man using a meat cleaver to kill his wife and daughter and wound his son-in-law in an apartment in Fairfax County, Virginia, was stopped when police shot and killed him, authorities say. A 1-year-old baby in the home was not wounded.

Fairfax County’s police chief described a “bloodbath” and “unimaginable scene” in the family’s home in the 3900 block of Persimmon Circle in Mantua, north of Little River Turnpike.

The attacker was a man in his 50s who used a weapon with about a 10-inch blade. He killed his wife and his daughter, who was in her 30s, Chief of Police Kevin Davis said at a news conference. The attacker’s son-in-law, who also is in his 30s, is hospitalized in “grave, grave condition,” Davis said.

“I can’t imagine what would compel any human being to butcher his family like he did today,” he said.

The son-in-law was outside clearing snow off his car when he heard a disturbance in the family’s home, Davis said. He went inside and found his wife suffering from stab wounds and his father-in-law attacking his mother-in-law. Then his father-in-law turned the knife on him. Someone in the home and a neighbor called 911.

“To describe this scene as bloody would be an understatement,” Davis said.

Officers arrived and found the attacker still stabbing his son-in-law.

“The officer gave repeated commands – one after another after another” to drop the knife but the man did not, Davis said.

The officer opened fire, killing the man. The three victims were rushed to a hospital, where the attacker’s wife and daughter died.

Davis said he saw bodycam video of officers’ response and that the officer who opened fire “did exactly what he was supposed to do.”

The 1-year-old baby of the couple in their 30s was not wounded and is being cared for by authorities, Davis said.

“Thankfully, the baby is unharmed,” he said.

Police had no previous calls to the home, including for domestic violence, Davis said. He warned that domestic violence can begin at a low level and escalate.

The names of the attacker and victims were not immediately released.

Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.