LOS ANGELES – A woman in her 20s who was armed with a knife was shot and killed during a confrontation with Los Angeles police officers Saturday in Panorama City, police said.
Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Mission Division were called at 12:30 a.m. to an apartment complex in the 9400 block of Van Nuys Boulevard between Gledhill and Vincennes streets regarding a suspect who was armed with a knife and threatening family members, according to the LAPD.
They encountered the woman and told her to drop the knife and surrender, and when she did not comply officers opened fire, authorities said.
Prior to the shooting, officers deployed a Taser, police said.
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The suspect was struck by gunfire and taken into custody. Paramedics from the Los Angeles Fire Department took her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead a short time later.
A knife was recovered at scene and will be booked as evidence, police added.
No officers or bystanders were injured.
At least one local civil rights leader questioned the shooting.
“The LAPD slaying of a Panorama City woman demands a fast track investigation and possible charges against the officers involved in the slaying,” said Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable.
“The LAPD again repeatedly uses deadly force in dubious situations that may not pose a life and death threat to officers or others. The Panorama City slaying is another possible example of that,” Hutchinson added. “(District Attorney George) Gascón must conduct a quick, fast, and thorough investigation in the slaying to determine if this was yet another case of the LAPD overusing deadly force.”