Ga. Man Who Fatally Stabbed Pentagon Officer Had Troubled Past

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August 5th, 2021

This April 2021 image provided by the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office shows a booking photo of Austin Williams Lanz. On Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021, a Pentagon police officer died after being stabbed during a burst of violence at a transit center outside the building, and a suspect was shot by law enforcement and died at the scene. The suspect was identified by multiple law enforcement officials as Austin William Lanz, 27, of Georgia.

Cobb County Sheriff's Office via AP

As officials seek clues about what prompted a Georgia man to fatally stab a Pentagon police officer, details of the suspect’s troubled past emerged Wednesday through interviews and court records.

Austin William Lanz, 27, was arrested last April for a break-in at a neighbor’s home and drew police attention months earlier for a harassment campaign involving sexually explicit photos and messages, according to interviews and records obtained by The Associated Press.

Investigators have not revealed a motive in the ambush-style killing of Pentagon police officer George Gonzalez, 37. But Lanz’s past brushes with the law, and neighbors’ accounts of recent menacing behavior, appear to suggest the violence was more likely the act of a troubled, violence-prone individual than part of a broader conspiracy.

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