Records: Man in National Shrine attack wanted to kill ex

Dec 13, 2019

|Associated Press

Records: Man in National Shrine attack wanted to kill ex — Metropolitan Police Department personnel are seen Dec. 10, 2019, on the campus of The Catholic University of America in Washington. A suspect struck a female security guard with a car in the parking lot of the nearby Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and stabbed another male security guard inside the basilica. (Credit: Tyler Orsburn/CNS.)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A man charged with attacking two guards at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception was trying to kill the mother of his daughter, according to court records filed in Washington, D.C.

The records detail the allegations against Dorsey Lee Mack III, 48, who’s charged with assault with intent to kill in the Tuesday attack, WTOP-FM reports.

A female guard told authorities Mack had been threatening to kill her for several days, but “had told her he changed his mind because they have a child in common,” records say.

She said she and a male guard were chatting outside the shrine when Mack attempted to drive into the man, but crashed into her instead, records say. A witness told authorities Mack then made a U-turn and crashed into the woman again before getting out of the car and chasing the other guard.

Mack is accused of chasing the male guard through the shrine and into its crypt, where he took out a knife and attacked the guard, police said. Mack dropped the knife and the guard picked it up to defend himself as Mack pulled out a second knife, records say.

Mack ultimately fled the scene and barricaded himself in his house, according to records. His daughter, whose age is unclear, urged him over a phone to surrender to authorities, they say. During the call, records say a police officer heard Mack saying he tried to kill the female guard.

Both victims identified Mack as the suspect. He’s set to appear in court Jan. 10. It’s unclear if he has a lawyer who can comment on his behalf.

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