A 70-year-old woman died after being shot by police amidst a behavioral health crisis in West Baltimore, according to a statement by Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley. As reported by FOX Baltimore, multiple calls led officers to the 2700 block of Mosher Street yesterday, where they encountered the woman in distress.
Police had been called to this residence over 20 times this year alone, addressing various incidents, including behavioral health crises, Commissioner Worley explained. When officers arrived on the scene, they repeatedly attempted to communicate with her, but to no avail. The officers breached the door and found her holding a knife. She was told to drop the weapon, and then, after ignoring verbal commands, the woman, wielding a knife, lunged at the officers, as mentioned by Worley and confirmed by CBS News Baltimore.
The situation escalated when a Taser was unsuccessfully deployed to restrain the woman. One of the retreating officers, attempting to de-escalate the circumstance, tripped over a chair. The woman then advanced towards the fallen officer while still holding the knife. Another officer then discharged their firearm twice, striking the woman, who was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. The officer who tripped and fell during the encounter injured his back and was also hospitalized, though not directly harmed by the woman.
Neighbors in the area were left unsettled by the incident, as reported by CBS News Baltimore. "I was nervous, I'm still nervous, cause this is too close to my home. It makes me want to move again," Julmeala Jung, a resident, stated. The deaths of individuals like Bilal "BJ" Abdullah Jr., who was shot by police earlier in the Upton neighborhood, and similar cases highlight a pattern of fatal encounters involving police response to crises in Maryland.
