A Virginia state trooper shot and killed a man accused of stabbing four people and a dog on Interstate 495 near Annandale on Sunday afternoon after a crash, authorities said. A 39-year-old woman and the dog later died.
The attack shut down a major stretch of the Capital Beltway near the Little River Turnpike exit and set off a fast-moving investigation into both the stabbings and the shooting. Police later identified the suspect as Jared Llamado, 32, of McLean. The trooper who fired is on administrative leave under department policy while the use of force is reviewed.
The first calls began coming in shortly after 1:15 p.m. from drivers who said a confrontation on the highway had turned violent. Dispatch audio captured the confusion as reports piled up from the same stretch of roadway. “We’re getting multiple calls of a male subject stabbing several people,” a voice said on a police dispatch call as traffic slowed and vehicles clustered near the crash scene. Investigators said the incident started as a vehicle collision in the southbound lanes near Exit 52, between Gallows Road and the Little River Turnpike. After the crash, police said, a man got out and began stabbing people. Another dispatcher described it in plain terms that matched what witnesses later told investigators: “It was a crash, turned into a male stabbing people.” A state trooper responding to the road rage call arrived minutes later and found multiple stabbing victims and the suspect holding a knife, police said. The suspect confronted the trooper with the weapon, authorities said, and the trooper fired in self-defense.
Police said the suspect was rushed to a hospital but died from his injuries. The stabbing victims were found along the highway near the crash site, where drivers had pulled onto the shoulder and emergency vehicles had to work through backed-up lanes to reach them. One of the victims, Michelle Adams, 39, died from her injuries, authorities said. A dog that was stabbed also died. Three other women were hospitalized with serious injuries, police said, identifying them as Dana Bonnell, 36, Mary C. Flood, 37, and Heather Miller, 40. Officials have not publicly described the relationship among the victims or which vehicle the dog was traveling in, and they have not said whether the victims were in one car or more than one. Police also have not released details about what, if anything, was said between the drivers before the stabbings. The injured victims were taken to nearby hospitals, with authorities saying the incident occurred close to the Inova Fairfax Medical Campus. Video from the scene showed medevac helicopters landing along the highway as paramedics treated the wounded.
The violence unfolded on a section of the Beltway that is routinely packed on weekends, a loop that carries commuters, delivery drivers and families around the Washington area. On Sunday, the road became an emergency corridor as state troopers and local police blocked lanes and cleared space for ambulances. For several hours, the closure squeezed traffic onto nearby roads and ramps, and drivers reported stop-and-go backups that stretched for miles. Transportation officials posted repeated alerts urging motorists to avoid the area and follow detours. Authorities said the crash that came first is still being investigated, and early reports described it as a property-damage collision before the stabbing calls began. Police have not said whether any traffic charges will be filed in connection with the crash. Investigators also said they do not believe the attack was related to terrorism, a point authorities emphasized as the region remained on alert for unrelated security concerns. Instead, police described the episode as road rage that escalated into a sudden, close-range assault.
Because the suspect died, prosecutors are not expected to file criminal charges against him, but investigators still must document what happened and how quickly the confrontation escalated. Virginia State Police said the trooper involved was not injured and will remain on administrative leave as the agency conducts an internal investigation, which is standard after a shooting. Such reviews typically include interviews, scene measurements and the collection of physical evidence, along with any available video from traffic cameras, dash cameras or bystanders’ phones. Authorities have not said whether any video captures the moment shots were fired or whether the trooper gave commands before shooting, beyond saying the suspect confronted the trooper with a knife. The medical examiner is expected to determine the manner and cause of death for the suspect and for Adams, while investigators work to map the timeline from the crash to the stabbings to the shooting. Police said they will also continue tracking down witnesses who were driving past, stopped in traffic, or standing on the shoulder when the attack happened.
Drivers who witnessed the incident described a chaotic and frightening scene in broad daylight. One motorist told a national news outlet that traffic slowed and he saw two cars that appeared to have collided, followed by people covered in blood and a man holding a knife. Another witness said a woman appeared to be trying to stop the attacker as he swung the knife. A third witness said he saw a scuffle near the vehicles and then watched a trooper arrive and fire multiple shots. Those accounts, while not independently confirmed in every detail by police, lined up with what authorities said they found when they arrived: multiple stabbing victims and a suspect still armed. Emergency crews worked in the open lanes and on the shoulder, treating victims as other drivers sat trapped in their cars behind the closure. The scene remained active into the evening as investigators marked evidence and documented the roadway, while tow trucks and traffic crews worked to clear vehicles involved in the initial crash.
By Monday, police had publicly identified the dead woman, the injured victims, and the suspect, but they had not released the dog’s identity or ownership. Authorities said the investigation was ongoing and that more details could be released as the internal review and crash investigation progress. The next milestone is expected to be official findings from the state police investigation and the medical examiner’s reports.
Author note: Last updated March 2, 2026.