Knife-Wielding Woman Fatally Shot By Chicago Police After Taser Doesn't Stop Her

CHICAGO, IL — A woman who threatened Chicago police with a knife was shot and killed by officers Friday night on the North Side after a Taser was ineffective in slowing her down, according to a department spokesman.

Information about the woman — including her name and age — wasn't known yet, Deputy Chief Al Nagode said in a press conference at the scene. No officers were hurt in the incident, he added.

The shooting happened at about 5:45 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, in the 3900 block of North Western Avenue in the North Center neighborhood after officers responded to a 911 call about a woman with a knife who was threatening employees inside a CVS Pharmacy, Nagode said.

When police reached the scene, store workers directed officers to a bus stop on Western Avenue where the woman was located. As officers approached her, the woman, who was still wielding the knife, made threats to them, Nagode said.

Officers took tactical positions and asked the woman to drop the knife, which she refused to do. Then, the woman began lunging at police, according to Nagode.

One of the officers fired his Taser twice — "a less-than-lethal tactic," as Nagode described it — to subdue the woman. In both instances, the Taser was ineffective, and the woman lunged at the officers.

Finally, police opened fire on the woman, hitting her in the upper body. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead, Nagode said.

A weapon was recovered from the scene, according to a police statement.

As part of department policy, the officers involved in the shooting will be placed on 30-day administrative leave, and the Independent Police Review Authority will investigate the incident.

WATCH: Deputy Chief Al Nagode talks to reporters at the scene of the shooting:

UPDATED (8:12 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10)

photo via Shutterstock

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