By Mary Johnson and Della Hasselle
TURTLE BAY — A knife-wielding woman was shot and killed by police Sunday evening after refusing to drop two ornate knives, the NYPD said.
Police found the woman, 57, carrying two large, decorated knives when they were called to a dispute around 8:30 p.m. on East 45th Street, between Second and Third avenues, according to police.
The fight was outside the New Providence Shelter for women with mental illnesses or addictions.
The police shot the woman in the torso when she refused to disarm, according to the NYPD. She was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead upon arrival.
The ornamental knives were recovered at the scene. One knife had a handle decorated with blue, yellow and red designs, and the other was wrapped in a red cord.
The investigation is ongoing. Police had cordoned off a portion of East 45th street where the shooting took place Monday morning.
Rachel Spaeth, an art director at Bloomingdales who lives a block away from the incident, said she had her window open and heard the shot.
"I just heard a loud bang, but I wasn't sure what it was," said Spaeth. "It was definitely an unnerving sound."
Minutes later, she said, she could see police lights flashing in the glass windows of the building across from her.
Women who lived at the shelter thought police could have handled the situation differently.
"I understand it's a hard decision to make but that's a life taken" said a 41-year-old woman who didn't give her name. "I think they should have just dealt with it in a different manner. I'm not saying she wasn't wrong but you could have shot to disarm her."
A 50-year-old woman, who also asked not to be identified, said she knew the woman who was killed.
"She was such a nice lady, quiet," the woman said. "Look what happened. That was uncalled for."
