Southern California officers shoot woman who allegedly lit car on fire, charged officers with knife
Police officers in the Inland Empire shot a woman early Wednesday morning after she lit a car on fire at a gas station and charged them with a knife, authorities said.
According to the Colton Police Department, the incident was reported at the ARCO gas station on 1240 E. Washington Street at about 12:20 a.m. Wednesday. Officers were called to the scene on reports that a woman, armed with a knife, was attempting to open car doors.
Arriving officers spoke to one of the reporting parties, who told the officers that the woman was inside his vehicle and refused to exit. Officers located the woman, who was sitting in the driver’s seat of a Toyota Sequoia parked near a gas pump.
The officers approached the vehicle and ordered the woman to exit. She refused, police said, and lit the interior of the vehicle on fire.
She then exited the car and, armed with a knife, approached the officers.
That’s when officers opened fire on the woman. Officers shot her an unknown number of times.
The woman, who remains unidentified, was transported to a local hospital. She remains in critical condition as of Thursday morning, authorities said.
No other people were injured during the incident. The fire was quickly extinguished, and the knife was recovered at the scene.
Both the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Office will investigate the incident. No additional details were immediately made available.