Police in a Florida park fatally shot an armed woman who “ambushed” them as they were searching for a suspect in a drug investigation, officials said.
The shooting happened around 10:30 p.m. Thursday at Tom Brown Park in Tallahassee.
Tallahassee police officers and a Leon County sheriff’s deputy responded to the park after receiving a report that the drug suspect they were looking for, a man, was seen there, according to a department news release Friday.
While at the park, they encountered a second man with the suspect, who officers recognized as making previous threats to law enforcement, as well as the woman who was an associate of the second man.
The second man was detained while the woman walked away, but she returned a short time later firing a rifle, the Tallahassee Police Department said in a statement.
Fearing for their lives, the officers and deputy returned fire and she was struck. She was taken to a hospital, where she died.
No police officers were injured and there is no threat to public safety, the police department said.
The drug investigation suspect was taken into custody at the park.
The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation.
The police department said it was committed to “conducting a thorough investigation into the events leading up to the shooting.”
Meanwhile, two people died Friday when a small plane crashed at a small South Florida airport, Palm Beach County sheriff’s officials said.
The crash at the Palm Beach County Park Airport in Lantana happened shortly after 11 a.m. officials said.
Television helicopter footage shows the Cessna Skyhawk broken into several pieces well off the runway.
The names of the victims were not immediately released.
Flightaware.com, an online flight tracking service, shows that the plane was taking off or had just taken off when it crashed.
The flight records show that the single-propeller plane typically made several short flights each day, taking off and then returning to the Lantana airport or, occasionally, flying to other small airports in the area.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate along with the sheriff’s office.
The airport serves small planes and is home to flight schools, advertising banner companies, repair shops, and other aviation-related businesses.
By ABC News
