Alexandria Police Officer Shot During Traffic Stop, In Critical Condition

The past 24 hours have been very difficult for those sworn to serve and protect in Northern Virginia.  Two police officers were hurt yesterday in unrelated incidents of violence.

Alexandria motorcycle police officer Peter Laboy is out of surgery, but remains in critical condition at the Washington Hospital Center after being shot in the head during a traffic stop shortly after noon on Wednesday.

"He has a number of injuries the more severe one is indeed a gunshot wound to  the head," says Police Chief Earl Cook.

The 45-year-old had stopped a taxi cab. Police say there was some type of confrontation between the officer and the driver. They believe the taxi driver, identified as Kashif Bashir of Woodbridge, Va., attacked Laboy.

"He is in custody and has been charged with malicious wounding of a police officer and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony," Cook says.

Cook says the motive for the attack is under investigation.

The other police officer recovering from serious injuries is a member of the Fairfax County Police. Shortly after midnight, his cruiser was hit head-on by an SUV driven by a suspect in a domestic incident in Fairfax City.

The suspect had been driving in the wrong direction for about four miles on the Little River Turnpike. The suspect was killed in the crash, which sheared the roof from the cruiser.