By Ikimulisa Livingston, Larry Celona and John Doyle
New York Post
NEW YORK — A knife-wielding woman was shot dead by cops this morning as she lunged at an officer, slashing him across the chest and stabbing him in both hands as he searched her Brooklyn home this morning, police said.
The injured cop was taken to Kings County Hospital with deep wounds to his hands. His jacket had been slashed open but had protected his body, police said.
The woman allegedly leapt out of a bedroom clutching a 12-inch kitchen knife after police and firefighters broke down her door to investigate a strong gas smell coming from her basement apartment on Remsen Avenue in Canarsie.
A police source said the officer’s hands were stabbed as he tried to protect himself from the weapon. His two colleagues fired five shots, the source said. The woman, who has not yet been named, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said Tasering the woman was not an option because it could have ignited the gas.
The home was searched after a 911 call from the woman’s landlord, who also lives in the building, reported the gas smell and somebody banging doors in the building.
They smashed down the door after the woman refused to open it, police said. The officers found all four burners on the woman’s stove had been turned on.
Neighbors described the woman as “troubled” and said she had caused problems in the building before.
Copyright 2009 New York Post