A 26-year-old Germantown man on Monday shot at a Montgomery County police cruiser and other individuals, led officers on a pursuit into Virginia and was arrested in Fairfax, county police said.
Frederick Njihia was taken to a Fairfax hospital with “non-life-threatening” injuries sustained in a vehicle crash, according to a news release. No one else was injured.
Patrol officers responded around 9:20 a.m. to a call about a man shooting a rifle in the 11300 block of Hawks Ridge Terrace in Germantown, according to police. He shot at a WSSC employee, striking his vehicle multiple times, and at another male standing near his truck, police allege.
Shortly after, a county officer and officer candidate were driving on Germantown Road when they saw the suspect vehicle, a blue Honda Civic, according to police.
The man then shot at their marked cruiser, and a front tire was flattened, police allege. As the driver headed south on Interstate 270 and toward Virginia, police pursued and notified Virginia State Police, according to the news release. Montgomery County police said Virginia police conducted a “pursuit intervention technique,” using another vehicle to halt the suspect’s car.
Njihia was injured in the crash, arrested and taken to the hospital, according to Montgomery County police, who said Virginia police found a .223 rifle in his vehicle.
The news release said Njihia would be charged with four counts of attempted murder and first-degree assault with a firearm. A warrant has been issued, Njihia is being detained in Virginia, and officials expect he will be extradited to Montgomery County, according to the release.
Police did not provide additional information, saying that the situation remains active.
Monday’s incident is the second time in less than a week that someone has fired shots at a Montgomery County officer. Last Thursday, three 16-year-olds were arrested after police say one of them fired shots at a police cruiser during a vehicle chase in Bethesda. The teens were charged with attempted murder, along with assault and burglary offenses. One of the teen suspects was mistakenly released from the county’s detention center and was later arrested in Washington, D.C.
Dan Schere can be reached at daniel.schere@bethesdda-remix.newspackstaging.com