The shooting has been questioned by at least one local civil rights leader.
June 16, 2024 at 8:45 PM PDT | Updated June 16, 2024 at 8:46 PM PDT
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Police shot and killed a woman who was armed with a knife during a standoff in the San Fernando Valley early Saturday morning, police said.
Officers were called to an apartment in the 9400 block of Van Nuys Boulevard in Panorama City around 12:30 a.m. on a report of a woman with a knife threatening a family member, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement.
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At the scene, officers ordered the woman to drop the knife and surrender, but when she did not comply, officers opened fire, shooting the woman.
Police said officers used Tasers before shooting.
The woman was taken into custody and paramedics took her to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. Police said the woman was in her 20s.
No one else was injured in the incident, police said.
A knife was found at the scene and seized as evidence, police added.
At least one local civil rights leader expressed doubts about the shooting.
“The murder of a Panorama City woman by the LAPD requires a swift investigation and prosecution of the officers involved,” said Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable.
“The LAPD has yet again and again used lethal force in questionable circumstances that may not pose a life-threatening threat to officers or others. The Panorama City murder is a perfect example of this,” Hutchinson added. “District Attorney (George) Gascón must conduct a swift and thorough investigation into this murder to determine whether this is yet another instance of excessive use of deadly force by the LAPD.”
City News Service contributed to this report.