Sarasota deputy fatally shoots woman with a knife

Author: The Associated Press
Published: Updated:

A sheriff’s deputy in Sarasota fatally shot a 63-year-old woman when she refused orders to drop a knife on Sunday evening.

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office responded to a home around 5 p.m Sunday to investigate a report of a woman armed with a knife, officials said in a statement on Twitter.

Investigators said Adrean Stephenson had left the home, but was found a short distance away, officials said.

Sheriff’s officials said Stephenson brandished a knife and confronted deputies who approached her. When she refused to drop the knife, they used a stun gun, which was not effective, reports said.

The woman continued to ignore demands to drop the knife and moved toward deputies. That’s when another deputy fired a gun. She died at the scene, investigators said.

An investigation is underway.

No one else was injured and no additional details have been released.

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