PEMBROKE PINES FLA April 4 2013 —
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— Police on Monday morning shot and killed a woman who called 911 threatening suicide and then defied orders to drop two handguns as she walked down the street in front of her home.
Shot at 10:35 a.m. in the 8800 block of Northwest Seventh Court, the woman was taken by Pembroke Pines Fire Rescue to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, where she died as a result of her injuries, according to Pembroke Pines police Sgt. John Gazzano.
"Police were begging her to put down the guns, but she kept walking toward them," said George Tyler, who lives three doors down from the woman and witnessed the shooting through his garage window. "She was saying, 'I don't care; go ahead shoot me.'
"She had no fear. It was like a Clint Eastwood movie," said Tyler, 63.
Neighbors who were home during the drama said they heard a commotion and that when they stepped out of their houses, police in plainclothes and SWAT gear — guns drawn — ordered them back inside.
At one point, Tyler said, the woman held both the handguns behind her back, but refused to drop them.
The woman's name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
But she is well-known on her block to many neighbors, some of whom said she talked openly of taking medication for a bipolar condition.
"She always seemed pleasant, always waving to everyone," said Kaj Harper, 42, who lives next door to the house where the woman lived with her boyfriend.
Believed to be in her late 40s, she often rode on the back of her boyfriend's three-wheeled motorcycle, said Harper.
Gazzano said officers made contact with the woman "who was making threats to end her own life."
"She exited her residence carrying a firearm in each hand making threats," said Gazzano in a news release. "Officers on scene gave her commands to stop and lower her weapons which she ignored and refused to comply.
"An officer on scene was forced to fire and the suspect was struck," said Gazzano.
The name of the officer who fired was not released.
The woman's boyfriend was taken to the hospital by ambulance on Sunday, said neighbors. He was not thought to be home at the time of the shooting.
Source- tribune.com
Shot at 10:35 a.m. in the 8800 block of Northwest Seventh Court, the woman was taken by Pembroke Pines Fire Rescue to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, where she died as a result of her injuries, according to Pembroke Pines police Sgt. John Gazzano.
"Police were begging her to put down the guns, but she kept walking toward them," said George Tyler, who lives three doors down from the woman and witnessed the shooting through his garage window. "She was saying, 'I don't care; go ahead shoot me.'
"She had no fear. It was like a Clint Eastwood movie," said Tyler, 63.
Neighbors who were home during the drama said they heard a commotion and that when they stepped out of their houses, police in plainclothes and SWAT gear — guns drawn — ordered them back inside.
At one point, Tyler said, the woman held both the handguns behind her back, but refused to drop them.
The woman's name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
But she is well-known on her block to many neighbors, some of whom said she talked openly of taking medication for a bipolar condition.
"She always seemed pleasant, always waving to everyone," said Kaj Harper, 42, who lives next door to the house where the woman lived with her boyfriend.
Believed to be in her late 40s, she often rode on the back of her boyfriend's three-wheeled motorcycle, said Harper.
Gazzano said officers made contact with the woman "who was making threats to end her own life."
"She exited her residence carrying a firearm in each hand making threats," said Gazzano in a news release. "Officers on scene gave her commands to stop and lower her weapons which she ignored and refused to comply.
"An officer on scene was forced to fire and the suspect was struck," said Gazzano.
The name of the officer who fired was not released.
The woman's boyfriend was taken to the hospital by ambulance on Sunday, said neighbors. He was not thought to be home at the time of the shooting.
Source- tribune.com