By Brian Trompeter
City of Fairfax police on May 15 arrested a 49-year-old Fairfax man after he allegedly struck and injured two staff members with a metal baseball bat at the Fairfax district office of U.S. Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-11th).
The suspect, identified as Xuan-Kha Tran Pham, reportedly entered the office on Main Street that morning and asked for Connolly before assaulting the staff members, Connolly said in a statement released later that day.
Fairfax police responded to the incident at 10:49 a.m. and took Pham into custody within five minutes of receiving the call.
Rescue personnel took the two congressional staff members to a hospital for treatment of injuries described as serious but non-life-threatening, said Connolly, who was not at the office when the attack occurred.
“Right now, our focus is on ensuring they are receiving the care they need,” Connolly said. “We are incredibly thankful to the City of Fairfax Police Department and emergency medical professionals for their quick response.”
A city of Fairfax police officer also sustained a minor injury and received medical treatment, police said.
Pham faces one count each of aggravated malicious wounding and malicious wounding. He is being held without bail at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
Fairfax police jointly are investigating the case with the U.S. Capitol Police and the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Authorities do not have any knowledge about the suspect’s motive or any information that the suspect was known to the U.S. Capitol Police, which has dispatched agents from its Threat Assessment Section to Fairfax.
Connolly complimented his staff, saying he had “the best team in Congress.”
”My district-office staff make themselves available to constituents and members of the public every day,” his statement read. “The thought that someone would take advantage of my staff’s accessibility to commit an act of violence is unconscionable and devastating.”
Democrats and Republicans in statewide and national leadership posts denounced the incident.
Fairfax County Democratic Committee Chair Bryan Graham released a statement saying the committee offered its “utmost concern” for the staff members who were attacked and strongly condemned the violence that had occurred.
“As Democrats, we believe in the power of peaceful and respectful discourse to advance our policies and ideas,” Graham’s statement read. “As Americans, we have a civic duty to uphold our democracy and the rule of law. We affirm our commitment to a safe and inclusive community where all members can be heard and express themselves freely.”
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger testified in April about the rising threat situation in the United States.
“One of the biggest challenges we face today is dealing with the sheer increase in the number of threats against members of Congress – approximately 400 percent over the past six years,” Manger said. “Over the course of the last year, the world has continuously changed, becoming more violent and uncertain.”
