Denver Cops Shoot, Kill Woman Holding Knife

Officers shot and killed a woman who was holding a large, hunting-style knife at an intersection in downtown Denver on Sunday, police said. Officers used a Taser on the woman twice but she began advancing toward them as they tried to back up from her, Denver police Chief Ron Thomas said a press conference near the scene. Three officers fired at her, he said. The shooting will be investigated and the results will be sent to prosecutors to decide if the shooting was lawful, the AP reports.

"My belief is that the officers perceived a significant threat and responded to that threat," Thomas said. The woman was apparently able to speed up despite the two shots from the stun gun, and allegedly got within a couple feet of the officers before she was shot, KDVR reports. Witnesses had called police to report the woman after seeing her with the knife, but did not report feeling threatened by her, the news station says. Authorities say officers ordered her to drop the knife multiple times and she did not comply, ABC 7 Denver reports. The woman's age and name were not immediately known. The shooting happened in an area near Coors Field around noon.

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