Texas officer shoots woman who stabbed him and another driver after crash, police say
An officer shot and killed a woman Thursday after, police say, she stabbed the officer and another driver following an early morning traffic accident in Plano, Texas.
The incident unfolded just after 6:50 a.m. local time as the officer responded to the scene, station KTVT reported, citing police.
He approached one of the cars to check on the persons involved. While the officer assessed the crash, that’s when authorities say the woman went to her car, retrieved a knife and began attacking the other driver, according to a department news release obtained by McClatchy News.
The woman then stabbed the officer, hitting him in the left arm, when he tried to intervene.
The officer was also hit in the shoulder area, police said.
“The officer doesn’t appear to have life-threatening injuries,” Plano Police Department spokesman David Tilley said, KTVT reported. “It’s difficult when one of your co-workers is in the process of trying to help someone and becomes a victim.”
Police said the officer retreated to safety, but noticed the woman again running to attack the victim.
“The suspect then ran around the front of the vehicle as the Officer circled around the back of the vehicle,” according to the release. “As the suspect began to enter the victim’s vehicle on the passenger side door, the Officer fired his service firearm at the suspect to stop her attack.”
“The suspect was struck multiple times” and died from her injuries, authorities said. Her identity has not been released.
Police later determined that the car the suspect was driving was stolen from another jurisdiction.
The officer, a more than 30-year veteran of the force, and the victim were transported to the hospital for treatment, according to police.
“We’re very hopeful that he’s going to be able to recover and we’re thankful the injuries he sustained were not anything more serious,” Tilley said, KDFW reported.
The incident remains under investigation.
This story was originally published June 25, 2020 at 10:28 AM.