A 45-year-old Maryland woman is dead after being shot by police.
Christine Lucas was shot by Cecil County troopers after they entered her Rising Sun house following a 911 call for an intruder early Sunday morning.
A police officer, deputies, and troopers responded to the two-story single family home off of Mt. Olivet Road shortly before 2 a.m. and heard a woman screaming inside.
They forced their way in, announcing that they were police. They used flashlights because the house’s electricity was shut off.
The group found Lucas seated in a chair. She picked up what appeared to be a handgun, stating that she did not believe they were the “real police,” the state police said in a statement.
The officials told Lucas they were there to help and demanded she drop the gun, but instead she pointed it at them.
The troopers, “in fear of their lives,” fired .40 caliber pistols. Lucas was pronounced dead at the scene.
The group later found out that Lucas’ 15-year-old son was sleeping upstairs, and had been woken earlier in the evening by his mother. She handed him a duffel bag with his clothes inside, told him she loved him, and told him to go upstairs to go to sleep. She also told him where to find his birth certificate.
Investigators later learned that Lucas had stopped taking prescribed medications for the past couple of weeks, and that the electricity may have been turned off as long as four months ago, indicating financial difficulties.
The gun held by Lucas was determined to be an air-soft pistol that was the size of a real handgun and painted black.
Investigators also found a suicide note penned by Lucas.
Both troopers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave, which is normal procedure.
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