LAUDERHILL, FLA. (WSVN) - A woman who was armed with a knife has died after she was shot by a police officer in Lauderhill, investigators said.
Lauderhill Police units responded to the scene the scene along the 4000 block of Northwest 16th Street, Friday afternoon.
7Skyforce hovered above the scene, where police taped off the area.
According to detectives, they received a call where a person gave out a first name and a location. The call was then disconnected.
“Our initial officer responded, and upon responding initially, he confronted an adult Black female with a large knife. That female charged toward the officer, at which point our officer discharged his firearm,” said Lauderhill Police Lt. Antonio Gonzalez.
The woman who was shot was transported to Broward Health Medical Center, where she was pronounced deceased.
“Anytime an officer is confronted and can justifiably determine that his life or others are in imminent danger, then he’s authorized to use deadly force and that is what occurred today,” said Gonzalez.
The woman’s identity has not been disclosed. Officials said she did live in the apartment complex.
Neighbors said they were shocked to hear what had happened.
“I was just laying down, and I heard a couple of bang sounds,” said neighbor Ron Baker. “So when I got up, I kind of settled down for a minute, and then I heard, like, the police sirens coming, so that’s when I knew something was up.”
“I went to the supermarket and I saw this,” said Carlos Coronado. “I don’t know what’s going on.”
“You never know what to expect sometimes,” said Baker. “One day it might be good, and then the second day something might just pop off.”
The officer has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. He has been with the Lauderhill Police for about three years.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has taken over the investigation, which is standard whenever there is a police-involved shooting.
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