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Disturbing moment: A 6-foot-tall woman with a knife is shot after stabbing a police officer


Disturbing moment: A 6-foot-tall woman with a knife is shot after stabbing a police officer

Disturbing bodycam video captured the moment a trained psychiatrist was fatally shot by a veteran Virginia police officer just seconds after she lunged at him with a knife and slashed him repeatedly.

Sydney Wilson, 33, was fatally shot by Fairfax County officer Peter Liu on September 16 in the hallway of her home in Reston, just outside Washington, D.C., after police were called to conduct a welfare check on her , the police said.

Footage released by police on Monday showed an “agitated” Wilson knocking on the door shortly after 10 a.m. when she opened the door for the officer and then suddenly slammed it in his face


Sydney Wilson, 33, was fatally shot by Fairfax County officer Peter Liu on September 16 in the hallway of her home in Reston, just outside Washington, DC.
Sydney Wilson, 33, was fatally shot by Fairfax County officer Peter Liu on September 16 in the hallway of her home just outside Washington, DC. Fairfax County Police Department

After nearly three minutes of trying to convince her to open the door again, Wilson suddenly appeared in a bathrobe and calmly asked, “How are you?” – and then immediately brandished the kitchen knife, the video shows.

“Oh Jesus Christ!” The officer gasps and backs away as the massive, 6-foot attacker follows him.

Wilson, who just months earlier had proudly posted that he was certified to provide adult mental health first aid, was then caught on camera attacking the officer and stabbing him in the face, police said with.

The officer, a 14-year police veteran with crisis intervention training, quickly drew his firearm and backed into a dead-end hallway, the bodycam clip shows.

A crazed Wilson, who worked as a leasing manager for a commercial real estate firm in Washington, was filmed walking toward the officer with the blade over her head as he repeatedly shouted at her to “stand down.”

Just seconds later, the woman armed with a knife repeatedly stabbed the officer in the face – prompting him to open fire, cops said.


Wilson stabbed police officer Peter Liu multiple times before she was fatally shot.
Wilson stabbed police officer Peter Liu multiple times before she was fatally shot. Fairfax County Police Department

The shocking video shows the attacker was shot three times before falling to the ground.

Police Chief Kevin Davis said the officer did everything he could to de-escalate the situation but was caught in the impasse when he opened fire.

“It could have been much, much, much worse,” Davis said when he posted the clip.

“The cut and laceration he sustained was at the top of his forehead.”

Wilson was pronounced dead after being transported to a nearby hospital, police said. Meanwhile, the officer was treated in hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

“Any loss of life is something we all grieve,” Davis said.

“The person whose life was lost in this particular case is no different; She has a family and friends and loved ones who love her very much, who care about her and are undoubtedly grieving and upset, and we recognize that, we pray and our thoughts are with this special family.”

The video of the shooting emerged just months after Wilson announced in a post on LinkedIn that she had received certification in “Adult Mental Health First Aid.”

“As a human resources manager, mentor, teammate, friend, big cousin, daughter… and so on, it is important to be able to help and recognize challenges in myself and others. I think this is the greatest act of love,” she wrote in the post.

“With Mental Health Awareness Month starting today, May 1, the timing seems right,” she added.

According to her online obituary, Wilson, who attended Georgetown University on a basketball scholarship, became a motivational speaker for young players after graduating.

“Sydney’s legacy of friendship, empathy and love will live on in the hearts of everyone who ever met her,” the obituary said.

Meanwhile, the officer who fired the fatal shots remains on administrative duty as the investigation into the fatal shots is ongoing.

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