LAUDERHILL, Fla. — A police officer shot and killed a woman at a South Florida condominium complex on Friday after police said the woman charged the officer with a knife.
Lauderhill Police Lt. Antonio Gonzalez said an officer drove to the Majestic Gardens complex after someone called police seeking service, gave a first name and hung up. Gonzalez, speaking at a news conference, said the officer was confronted by a woman with a large knife shortly after arriving.
The officer reported the woman had a knife over his radio, and then reported “shots fired” after he shot the woman, police said. The woman was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
“Any time 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,” Gonzalez told reporters. “And that is what occurred today.”
Police told local news outlets they haven't confirmed whether the woman shot was the same woman who called 911. They haven't released the name of the woman or the officer.
The officer, who had been working for Lauderhill police for three years, will be placed on leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates the shooting, as is normal procedure.
Police said they were interviewing witnesses who saw the shooting. Other residents said they heard but did not see the confrontation.
“I was just laying down, and I heard a couple of bang sounds,” neighbor Ron Baker told WSVN-TV. “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.”
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