Law enforcement has identified the man who was shot and killed by police earlier this week after stabbing three family members inside a Mantua apartment.
The assailant, who allegedly killed both his wife and daughter, was publicly identified today (Wednesday) by the Fairfax County Police Department as 54-year-old Chhatra Thapa of Fairfax.
Officers responded to the 3900 block of Persimmon Circle early Monday morning (Feb. 23) and encountered Thapa, “who was armed with a knife and kneeling over an adult male victim inside the residence,” police said.
Two adult women were found with stab wounds, one of them located outside the apartment and one of them inside.
“Officers issued repeated verbal commands for Thapa to drop the knife,” the FCPD said in a news release. “When he failed to comply and continued the assault, an officer discharged his firearm, striking Thapa.”
The officer who fired his gun is a member of the Mason Police District who has been with FCPD for about two-and-a-half years, the department said today.
He is currently on restricted duty while the FCPD conducts criminal and administrative investigations into the shooting, though Police Chief Kevin Davis said in a media briefing on Monday that he “did exactly what we expect him to do and, quite frankly, exactly what our community expects him to do.”
Thapa died at the scene, while his daughter, identified as 33-year-old Mamta Thapa, and wife, 52-year-old Binda Thapa, were both taken to a local hospital, where they were pronounced deceased.
Thapa’s son-in-law, who has not been publicly identified by Fairfax officials, sustained life-threatening injuries in the attack and remains hospitalized, according to FCPD.
“The carnage that was perpetrated by this man in his 50s on his own family is unimaginable,” Davis said.
A 1-year-old child was found unharmed inside the residence. The child has been placed in protective custody and an appropriate family placement has been located, police said.
Citing “family sources,” the Kathmandu Post, an English-language newspaper in Nepal, reported that Chhatra Thapa was an immigrant from Nepal who became a permanent U.S. resident in November 2025.
An official with the Embassy of Nepal in D.C. told the Kathmandu Post that they’re working with Nepali community organizations to locate members of Thapa’s extended family “and provide necessary support.”
