A woman died after she was shot by an Athens police officer Monday, authorities said.
Bonny Thomas, 54, died in a hospital after the shooting, GBI spokeswoman Natalie Ammons said in a news release Tuesday.
Officer Lamar Glenn shot Thomas after she allegedly raised a knife at him and refused to put it down, according to Athens police.
The police shooting happened in the 100 block of Chalfont Drive in northwest Athens, officials said. Officers were sent to the home on an “unspecified 911 call,” Ammons said.
“The caller said a woman had a knife and a gun, but did not specify a problem,” she said.
When the officer arrived, Thomas met him with a large knife, Ammons said.
Glenn asked the woman to put the knife down but she did not comply, according to Athens-Clarke County police Chief Cleveland Spruill.
Thomas moved toward the officer with the knife raised, Ammons said. She also said she had a gun. Thomas then ran toward Glenn, and he fired at her, according to the GBI.
Thomas was taken to a hospital, where she died. No officers were injured during the incident.
Glenn has been employed by the police department for 29 years, officials said. He was placed on administrative leave with pay while the incident is being investigated, Spruill said.
It’s the 68th officer-involved investigation the GBI has opened this year, and the fifth for Athens-Clarke County.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also tracks officer-involved shootings that don't involve the GBI, and those numbers sometimes differ from the GBI’s tally.
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