Philadelphia Inquirer
PHILADELPHIA — A 23-year-old woman was critically injured when she was shot by police after allegedly slashing an officer with a knife in North Philadelphia yesterday afternoon, police said.
Neighbors said the woman, whose name was not released, allegedly had behavioral problems and had terrorized the neighborhood, breaking car windows with a baseball bat and threatening people with a knife.
Yesterday’s incident happened after officers had responded about 4:45 p.m. to disturbance call inside an apartment on the 2500 block of West Montgomery Avenue and encountered the woman, who was physically assaulting an aunt, said Lt. Frank Vanore.
The woman produced a knife and was ordered to drop it, but she refused, Vanore said. One of the officers then fired a Taser at her, but that did not subdue her.
The woman then allegedly cut Officer Leon Campbell Jr., 33, in the left hand and right arm, Vanore said.
Campbell’s backup officer, who was not identified, shot the woman at least once in the abdomen and possibly the side or arm, Vanore said.
She was reported in critical but stable condition at Temple University Hospital.
Campbell, a six-year veteran of the force assigned to the 22d Police District, was reported in good condition at Temple and was expected to be released.
The officer who shot the woman will be removed from street duty pending the result of an investigation, as is routine in such cases.
Neighbors said the woman’s mother had told them that she suffered from bipolar disorder. Neighbors also alleged that the woman abused drugs.
Shay Scott, 32, who lives next door, said the woman would walk around neighborhood with a butcher knife in her back pocket. “That girl is crazy,” Scott said.
Doreen Williams, 38, who lives across the street, accused the woman of taking a baseball bat to car windows.
“She used to sit outside with her bat and her knife, just picking fights,” Williams said.
Both Williams and Scott have children and expressed relief after the shooting.
“I’m glad she’s gone,” Williams said. “We can have a peaceful summer.”
Copyright 2010 Philadelphia Inquirer