Woman Killed By LAPD Officers During Knife-Wielding Confrontation: Police

LOS ANGELES, CA — Police shot and killed a woman who was armed with a knife during a confrontation in the San Fernando Valley early Saturday morning, according to police.

Los Angeles Police Department officers were called to an apartment complex in the 9400 block of Van Nuys Boulevard in Panorama City at around 12:30 a.m. following a report of a woman who was armed with a knife and threatening family members, the LAPD said in a statement.

At the scene, they told the woman to drop the knife and surrender. When she did not comply, offers opened fire and she was struck by gunfire.

Prior to the shooting, officers deployed a Taser, police said.

The woman was taken into custody and paramedics transported her to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She was in her 20s, police said.

No other people were injured in the incident, police said.

A knife was recovered at scene and was be booked as evidence, police added.

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."

City News Service contributed to this report.