A 59-year-old Virginia woman died Sunday after she and her husband were found shot at a townhouse in the Mount Vernon area that morning.
The Fairfax County Police Department believes Daphne Saunders-Johnson was shot by her husband, James Johnson, who then shot himself in a “domestic-related incident.”
Johnson has been charged with second degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, the FCPD announced Monday.
According to the police department, officers responded to the 7900 block of Central Park Circle at approximately 3:19 a.m. after getting a report of a shooting.
“Shortly after arriving, officers heard a gunshot and entered the residence to find 59-year-old Daphne Saunders-Johnson and 62-year-old James Johnson suffering from gunshot wounds,” the FCPD said. “The married couple lived in the home and were both taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.”
Saunders-Johnson died at the hospital, while Johnson remains there in “critical but stable condition,” police say.
The cause of death will be confirmed with an autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
The FCPD says the charges were determined in consultation with the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, noting that a firearm was found at the home.
The shooting remains under investigation. Police say Johnson will be transferred to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center once he is released from the hospital.
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