FAIRFIELD -- A man was shot and killed by a police officer in a domestic violence incident that left his three children and wife seriously injured in Fairfield Tuesday morning.
At approximately 6 a.m., the 13-year-old daughter of the man shot to death called 911 to report a serious domestic incident at 22 Mountain Laurel Rd. in Fairfield.
But she wasn't the only one who prevented more harm; the man's eldest son, 15, was outside with his father when police arrived, and they found he had helped prevent his siblings from being harmed further.
"Apparently, the father went to go strike [the 15-year-old], and he grabbed the bat and took it away from him, at which point, they both came outside and that's when our officers got on scene," said Lt. James Perez, of the Fairfield Police Department.
The officer asked the father, identified by police sources as 51-year-old Christopher Andrews, to stop where he was, but Andrews he failed to comply, rushing toward the officer with a knife.
"Our first officer, who got out there, got out of his car and started walking down the driveway when he was approached by two individuals, one of the sons and then the father," said Perez. "At that point, the officer felt his life was in danger and he actually fired his weapon, striking the individual and the individual went down."
Andrews, a New York City attorney, died at the scene.
When police investigated, they found the man's wife and children, ages 12, 13, and 15 had been injured.
According to Perez, when officers entered the home, they discovered "a mother laying in the bed with severe injuries, to the head and to the face and son, or another small child, who was in the corner badly battered about the face and head."
Five people from the family were taken to the hospital, including Andrews. The mother, who neighbors identified as Kathleen Andrews, was in critical condition Tuesday morning, and police did not provide updates on her condition. The couple's youngest child, a 12-year-old boy, was airlifted to Yale-New Haven with serious injuries.
The 13-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son were taken the hospital as well.
Police said the victims all had blunt trauma injuries and stab wounds.
A neighbor of the Andrews family, who says he coached their eldest son in baseball, told FOX 61 he awoke to several distinct popping sounds and, when he opened his curtains, he looked out and saw an officer standing over a man laying in the driveway of the residence.
The officer, whose name has not been released, was also taken to the hospital as a precaution. Police say the officer has been with the department for "quite some time."
According to State Police, the State Attorney’s Office requested detectives from Western District Major Crime to assist Fairfield Police with the investigation.
