Police officer slain alongside assailant in an attack outside US Pentagon

Washington – A police officer, along with the attacker, was killed in an attack outside the Pentagon, the US Defence Department headquarters. A lockdown in the Pentagon area was announced for some time, shortly after the attack. Sources said that US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin visited the Pentagon after the attack. A police officer was also killed in an attack outside the US Congress four months ago.

Austin Lanz, the 27-year-old assailant, stabbed a police officer stationed on a bus platform outside the Pentagon building around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday. Lanz also attacked others standing on the platform after the police officer. Two persons were injured and have been admitted to the hospital. Other police officers stationed in the area responded to the attack while Lanz was carrying out the attack. The police informed that Lanz was killed during the encounter that ensued.

The police officer’s name, who was killed in the attack, has not been released yet. The police officer was identified as a member of the Pentagon’s Force Protection Agency. Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin mourned his death; the flag was flown at half-mast in the area around the Pentagon. Sources informed that a lockdown was imposed in the area around the Pentagon for a few hours after the incident.

The background of the attacker Lanz has been revealed to be a criminal. He was arrested in April on charges of intrusion and theft. He was also charged with attempting to attack the police and threatening a terrorist attack. However, investigating agencies said that the motive behind the attack has not yet been determined outside the Pentagon. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been tasked with investigating the attack.

This is the third attack on a sensitive and high-security area, in the United States, in the last five months. Earlier in April, a police officer and the attacker has been killed in a suicide car bomb attack in the area of the US congress, known as the US capital. After that, in May, an attacker was killed in an encounter in front of the CIA headquarters.