Man arrested for attacking Connolly’s staffers
A man who attacked two staffers in Rep. Gerry Connolly’s Fairfax office with a metal baseball bat is in police custody.
Xuan Kha Tran Pham, 49, of Fairfax, entered the office, at 10680 Main Street, at about 10:45 a.m. on May 15 and asked for Connolly, the City of Fairfax Police Department reports.
Connolly wasn’t in the office. Pham struck a senior aide in the head and in intern – on her first day on the job – on her side, Connolly told CNN.
They were taken to the hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening and released a few hours later. A police officer sustained a minor injury.
Pham was arrested as soon as the police arrived. He was charged with one count of felony aggravated malicious wounding and one count of malicious wounding. He is being held in the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center without bond.
The U.S. Capitol Police Threat Assessment Section and the FBI’s Washington Field Office are investigating the incident, as well as the City of Fairfax Police Department.
“At this time, it is not clear what the suspect’s motivation may have been,” the Capitol Police states. “Based on what we know right now, investigators do not have any information that the suspect was known to the USCP.”
Connolly, a Democrat who has represented Virginia’s 11th District since 2009, was at a ribbon-cutting for a food bank at the time of the attack, CNN reported.
“My district office staff make themselves available to constituents and members of the public every day,” Connolly told CNN. “The thought that someone would take advantage of my staff’s accessibility to commit an act of violence is unconscionable.”
When police arrived, they found other people hiding in the office, said Sgt. Lisa Gardner, a spokesperson for the Fairfax City Police at a news conference. “It’s quite frankly scary that someone can walk up to an office with a baseball bat and just start swinging at innocent victims.” Pham also broke glass and computers in the office.
Pham’s father told CNN that his son is schizophrenic, hadn’t taken his medication for three months, and seems to be “talking with someone in his brain.” Hy Xuan Pham said he tried to get mental health treatment for his son but hasn’t been able to.
According to the New York Times, Pham filed a federal lawsuit in Virginia against the CIA last year alleging that the agency had imprisoned him for decades in a “lower perspective based on physics called the book world” and demanded
$29 million. The handwritten suit claimed the agency was “brutally torturing” him with a “degenerative disability” from the “fourth dimension.”
CNN reports that Virginia court records show Pham was charged in January 2022 in Fairfax with assaulting a law enforcement officer, attempted disarmament of an officer’s stun gun, and resisting arrest.
The attack targeting Connolly comes at a time of increased violent threats against lawmakers. Last fall, an intruder looking for Rep. Nancy Pelosi attacked her husband with a hammer.
U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger testified before Congress on the heightened threat climate across the country. “One of the biggest challenges we face today is dealing with the sheer increase in the number of threats against members of Congress – approximately 400 percent over the past six years,” he said.
“Over the course of the last year, the world has continuously changed, becoming more violent and uncertain,” Manger said.
My heart breaks for everyone impacted by this man’s severe mental illness.
It is so difficult, if not impossible in many cases, for the close family members of severely mentally ill adults to legally force the adult to take medication intended to treat their mental illness if the adult is not willing to voluntarily accept the treatment (and the adult does not commit a crime which leads to their imprisonment).
It’s not uncommon for these instances to result in physical harm to the mentally ill adult (including suicide) and/or to others.
I was “lucky” in the instance of my baby brother, who was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. While he talked often about seriously harming others, including me; ultimately, he only killed himself.
Over the years, the anger I felt at the lack of help I encountered from the health care and law enforcement community when I attempted to have my brother receive treatment has become deep grief and great empathy for the severely mentally ill, their family members, and the people they physically harm.
I kindly ask Representative Connolly to consider what else he and his fellow elected officials can do to ensure the severely mentally ill receive the treatment they need to have a chance to live as stable and peaceful a life as possible.
Thank you for this comment. While the attack was horrible, it was not unforeseen given the state of mental health care in this country. I am deeply sad for all involved. But I also knew what it is to feel powerless to help a family member and to watch their life spiral downwards because, as a society, we aren’t willing to address these situations.
So so so many crimes are those by the mentally ill. They too are victims. They cannot seek help as the father of this man so stated. Know for a fact trying to seek help friends and all we got was; we don’t have the staff, must be cash or credit card because we don’t take medicare, medicaid or insurance nor secondary insurance. What is going on? Why not? Congressman Connolly can do something positive because of this. Look into the care for the mentally ill. This most likely would never have happened if care was provided. It is time to stop and realize that much of our crime is committed by the mentally ill. I ask Congressman Connolly and his staff to look into a change for mental health care.