An Austin woman was shot and killed by police in what they are calling a suicide-by-cop case.
The unnamed 26-year-old Caucasian woman was shot multiple times by responding officers in the early hours of Oct. 16 after ignoring repeated commands to drop her gun, police said.
Before the deadly confrontation, the woman’s husband contacted police at around 3:45 a.m. and requested the assistance of a mental health officer, stating his wife was behaving erratically. However, when he stated his wife was armed, police officers were instead dispatched to the couple’s home.
Upon arrival, the woman is said to have pointed her gun at the officers as she walked towards them.
“She extended the weapon towards the officers, and said, ’shoot me, shoot me, kill me,'” said APD Assistant Police Chief Troy Gay.
Gay added, “The officers were giving her verbal commands the whole time telling her to drop the weapon.”
The officers fired their weapons, but the woman, who was lying on the ground at this point, continued to pose a threat, as she was still moving with the gun underneath her body, according to ABC.
According to police, backup who arrived on the scene tried to disarm the woman, who continued to say things like “kill me.” Police said that, as they approached the woman, she still had the gun in hand and was pointed at the officers, at which point an officer fired several more shots, according to KXAN.
Officers administered first aid until emergency responders arrived and took her to a local hospital. She was pronounced dead 45 minutes after arriving at the hospital.
There is audio of the incident, but no video footage because the patrol vehicles weren’t in the vicinity of the confrontation.
This is the eighth officer-involved shooting this year in Austin, reported the KXAN.
Austin Police Association President Ken Casaday said that “suicide by cop” is becoming a common trend in the city.
“We’ve had two or three this year, so far, that I can remember,” Casaday told CBS Austin. “I think just the direction we’re going in, in our country, people are really struggling with their mental health.”
