A Kenyan-American has been arrested and presented in court to face charges of shooting at several people in Germantown — including a police officer — and getting into a 52-kilometre speed chase with US cops.
Authorities say 26-year-old Frederick K. Njihia of Germantown is charged with eluding police and one other offense in Virginia.
Once extradited, Montgomery County Police say the suspect will also face four counts of attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault with a firearm.
The Montgomery County Emergency Communications Center received multiple calls for a man with a gun and shots fired in the 11300 block of Hawks Ridge Terrace in Germantown around 9:24 a.m. on Monday.
Police say the suspect, who neighbors say lives nearby, allegedly shot at a Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission Water worker, striking the man’s vehicle several times.
Police also say the suspect allegedly shot at a man standing next to his truck and hit the cruiser of a responding officer who reportedly spotted the suspect’s vehicle traveling on Germantown Road.
The officer relayed the information and a police pursuit began. Police chased the suspect down I-270. Virginia State Police picked up the chase on I-495.
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State police said once the suspect’s Honda Civic made a U-turn on Route 7 at Route 267/Dulles Toll Road, a Virginia State Police trooper administered a tactic known as a “P.I.T. maneuver,” to intervene with the suspect’s vehicle.
The Honda Civic ran off the road, struck the jersey wall and overturned onto its roof. Virginia State Police say Njihia was taken into custody without further incident and was transported to INOVA Fairfax Hospital for treatment of minor injuries sustained when his vehicle overturned.
Montgomery County’s Police Chief Marcus Jones tweeted photos of two firearms recovered from the suspect’s vehicle on Monday. A press release noted police recovered one 233 rifle.
