Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputies fatally shot a woman who was holding her boyfriend at knife-point during a domestic dispute.
According to spokeswoman Teri Barbera, police were called to the home in a duplex in the 1400 block of North J Street around 2:30 a.m. by the boyfriend, who said their 3-year-old son was home.
When police arrived, the woman had her boyfriend by the shirt with an 8-inch butcher knife in her hand. Deputies told her to put the knife down repeatedly. When the woman did not comply, and instead turned to stab her boyfriend, police opened fire.
Emergency crews rushed the woman, who was 24, to Delray Medical Center, where she later died of her injuries.
The man and child were unharmed.
"Deputies gave the armed female numerous commands to drop the knife, she would not comply," said Barbera. "Deputy's in fear the suspect was going to kill the victim, shot the suspect."
Authorities say the man sounded frantic and frightened when he made the 911 call to report the incident, and that the girlfriend was threatening to kill him. They also said they've had calls to the duplex before, and that the couple, whose names have not been released, has had previous problems.
"It's the deputies' responsibility to protect the community," said Barbera. "Deputies have a duty to protect the citizens."
The deputies involved will be placed on administrative leave which is standard department protocol.
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