A 54-year-old woman was shot and killed in a Monday morning confrontation with police officers in Athens.
A press release from the Athens-Clarke County Police Department said the incident unfolded just after 10 a.m. at a condominium complex at 100 Chalfont Drive.
"Dispatchers advised officers that the subject may be armed with a knife," the press statement said. "Upon arrival, our officer encountered the subject, later determined to be a 54-year-old white female, brandishing a knife."
Authorities said the officer backed away from the woman, identified by the GBI as Bonny Thomas, and asked her multiple times to drop her weapon, but she refused to do so.
"The subject charged at our officer with the knife raised in a threatening manner and our officer, fearing for his life, discharged his weapon and struck the female in the torso," the statement said.
Thomas was taken to a local hospital where she died from her wounds.
The officer involved in the incident was not injured and was placed on administrative leave with pay in accordance with department policy.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been asked to take over the investigation. The shooting is the 68th officer-involved shooting in Georgia this year. It is the fifth officer-involved shooting in Athens this year.
