DETROIT – A 27-year-old mother of two who Detroit police say had been violent towards her son and mother during a mental health crisis was shot and killed by officers.
Detroit police Chief James White has shared more information about what happened before a woman was killed by officers.
“The female also reported that her daughter had access to a firearm. She further reported that she had been struck in the head by her daughter and that she might have to kill her own daughter,” White said.
Police said a total of four shots were fired by three Detroit police officers inside a home on Meyers Road Thursday (Nov. 10) night. All three officers have been placed on administrative leave while Michigan State Police investigate.
“Whether the officers were acting based on the fact that the children were in the home and the urgent necessity to get the children from the home is currently being investigated but we do know that when children are at risk decisions to protect them are our top priority,” White said. “When the officers rushed inside the door, when the door was open, she went for a gun. There was a struggle for that gun. At which time, officers fired shots.”
Police said the woman’s mother had called 911 and reported that she had been assaulted by her daughter, who she said had schizophrenia.
Police said the woman’s 7-year-old son had also been struck and was bleeding. The 27-year-old woman had a baseball bat, knives and a gun, police said. The mother told police she feared she would have to kill her daughter.
When police arrived, the woman’s mother and her mother made it out of the home. The 7-year-old son and a 1-year-old child were still inside.
“She’s threatening her mom and says she will kill her two kids,” a 911 dispatcher relayed to the officers. “She says she’s gonna end it in a shoot out.”
A member of the crisis intervention team said they could see the woman at the door and they could see a gun. They could not see the children, police said.
“If the kids were killed or hurt and they hadn’t gone in, I’d be asking the same question, we’d be standing here just be on a different track. Why didn’t we go in and did we have enough to go in,” White said.
Local 4 has been unable to obtain a statement from the woman’s family at this time.
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