Woman dies in officer-involved shooting
A 45-year-old woman has died following an officer-involved shooting.
The incident began at 10:18 p.m. Tuesday when Karen Day's ex-husband called 911 because she had come to his house in the 700 block of North Spruce. Day, 45, had a protection from abuse order against the man, and he was concerned that he might not be in compliance.
"When the first officers arrived, they found a woman who was very distraught. She came out of the home and lunged at them with a knife," Wichita Police Cpt. Jeff Easter said. "The woman ignored several commands from the officers to put the knife down."
In a news conference Wednesday morning, Police Chief Norman Williams said Day had come to the door holding a long, fireplace lighter, a whiskey bottle and a knife. She began stabbing herself in the chest, and then approached the officers, telling them to shoot her, Williams said.
"The officers fired shots at her, striking her," Easter said.
The woman was rushed to Wesley Medical Center in critical condition, but was pronounced dead a short time later.
It remains unclear how many times Karen Day was shot. Easter said the coroner's office will do an autopsy on Wednesday.
The two officers who fired their weapons are on administrative leave, which is Wichita Police Department policy. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office are investigating the incident.
Tuesday night's incident is the eighth police-involved shooting in Wichita in 2012. Four of the incidents were fatal.
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