A woman is dead after a police-involved shooting in downtown Hamilton.
It happened inside a residence near King and Wellington streets at around 1 a.m.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) says that police were initially dispatched to the address after receiving a 911 call about a person armed with a knife.
“Police officers responded and ended up in an interaction. One of the officers discharged a firearm and the woman was taken to hospital but has since died,” SIU investigator Carm Piro told reporters at the scene on Saturday morning.
According to the SIU, one officer deployed a conducted energy weapon during an altercation with the woman. Another officer then discharged his firearm, striking the woman.
She was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead about an hour later.
Piro said that the SIU will be interviewing a number of witnesses as well as the officers involved.
He said that it hard to say how long the investigation will take, given that it is still very much in its early stages.
“There is going to be an autopsy conducted tomorrow morning and the forensic examination is happening right now so there is a lot of information that is still to come,” he said.
Six investigators and three forensic investigators have been assigned to the case. The SIU has also designated one subject officer and two witness officers.
The identity of the woman has not been released at this point.
