WASHINGTON — The Fairfax County Police Department has identified the officer who fatally shot a Herndon, Virginia, man who barricaded himself inside his home in January after shooting two people.
Master Officer Lance Guckenberger, a 16-year veteran with the department, fired his weapon at 32-year-old Mohammad Doudzai on Jan. 16 who was armed with a knife and had also set his townhome on fire with another man inside, Police Chief Edwin Roessler said in a written update Thursday.
The release of Guckenberger’s name comes after a protracted legal fight over its release.
According to a recently adopted county policy, officials generally have 10 days to release the name of an officer who uses deadly force on the job. But the officer filed a lawsuit last month saying he and his family would be subjected to harm, threats and harassment if his name were made public. A judge issued an order temporarily blocking its release.
The release of Guckenberger’s name Thursday complied with that court order, police said.
The fatal shooting in January came after police say Doudzai shot his two brothers, then barricaded himself inside his home, with his roommate trapped inside. When police arrived, they said they heard additional gunshots inside, saw Doudzai with a knife and received emergency calls from Doudzai’s roommate who was having trouble breathing after the home was set on fire. Doudzai’s two brothers and his roommate all survived.
Police also revealed Guckenberger has been involved in two other nonfatal shootings over the past dozen years.
In 2005, Guckenberger returned fire with a suspect who had held up a businesses in Falls Church, police said. That man was charged with attempted capital murder of a police officer.
In 2010, a man with a reported history of mental illness fired a weapon at Guckenberg and other offices. Guckenberg fired on the man, who turned out to be holding a BB gun.
Both of those shootings were determined to be justified use of force, police said.
Police said they were releasing information about the previous officer-involved shootings “as a matter of transparency.”
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