An 81-year-old woman suffering from a mental health episode was fatally shot by a Florida deputy after she allegedly lunged at him with a knife, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office said.
Authorities were called to the Rails End Mobile Home Park in Wildwood, about 52 miles northwest of Orlando, just after 11 p.m. Monday “in reference to a female who was in distress and having a mental episode,” a sheriff’s office news release states.
The woman, Janet Sours, had called 911 and said that “people were dying over here” before hanging up, authorities said.
Rescue personnel staged an area outside her home until deputies could secure the area, the sheriff’s office said.
As deputies were investigating whether her complaint “was real or if she was having a mental episode,” Sours allegedly pulled a knife from behind her back and lunged at a deputy “attempting to stab him,” the release states.
Authorities said the deputy “took evasive action backing up while simultaneously drawing his service weapon and fired” at Sours, striking her.
Rescue personnel attempted life-saving measures at the scene and she was taken to the hospital, where she died from her injuries.
Sours’ family declined to comment on Thursday.
The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office declined to answer questions about the deadly shooting, citing the ongoing investigation. A spokesperson said the deputy is on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, a standard procedure.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is handling the investigation. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
