Prince William County Police Department

In the interest of keeping the residents of Prince William County informed of significant incidents involving our officers and the community, details regarding the recent officer-involved shooting incident are provided below. Additional updates and information will be added when available. Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to contact the Prince William County Police Department tipline at 703.792.7000 or submit a webtip to: pwcva.gov/policetip. Any tips received will be relayed to CIRT investigators.

• PD Case No.: PD240044406
• Date/Time of Incident: Thurs., Dec. 5, 2024 | 5:06 a.m.
• Location: 5000 block of Davis Ford Road, Woodbridge (PWC)
• Investigative Body: Regional Critical Incident Response Team (Independent of PWCPD)
• Commonwealth Attorney Finding: PENDING

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UPDATE: Dec. 5, 2024 | 7:29 p.m.

Prince William County police have identified the man who died during an officer-involved shooting that occurred in the 5000 block of Davis Ford Rd in Woodbridge (22192) on December 5. The deceased was identified as Michael David BURKE, 58. The investigation into the encounter between the officer and the deceased before the shooting remains active and led by the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT). More information will be released when available. The investigation continues.

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INITIAL: Dec. 5, 2024 | 8:26 a.m.

On December 5 at 5:06AM, a Prince William County police officer was involved in an officer-involved shooting on the grounds of the Department of Fire & Rescue Station 26 and the Central District Police Station located in the 5000 block of Davis Ford Rd in Woodbridge (22192) during an encounter with a man on the property. Preliminarily, a uniformed police officer was completing their work shift when the officer received information about a man in the rear parking lot of the fire station. As the officer made contact with the man, a knife was seen in the man’s hand. The man began approaching the officer, waving the knife in front of him and towards the officer. The officer gave several commands to the man to drop the knife. The man did not comply and continued advancing towards the officer. At one point, the officer discharged their service weapon, striking the man in the upper body. Additional officers arrived on the scene soon after, and immediate first-aid was administered by officers and fire & rescue personnel from the nearby fire station. The man was transported to an area hospital, where he later died from his injuries. No officers, fire & rescue personnel, or other community members were injured during the incident, which remains contained to the grounds of the property. There is no active threat to the surrounding community. The identity of the deceased, preliminarily identified as an adult man, is pending and will be released once confirmed and a next of kin is notified. The Prince William County Police Department, at the request of Chief Peter Newsham, has requested the regional Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) to oversee the investigation as an independent body. The involved officer will be placed on routine administrative leave. More information will be released when available. The investigation continues.