The Los Angeles Police department has identified the woman shot and killed by officers while wielding a knife and threatening family members before turning the knife onto law enforcement.
Officers responded to an apartment building on the 9400 block of Van Nuys Boulevard in Panorama City at 12:50 a.m. Saturday on reports of a woman attempting to assault family members with a knife. The person who called authorities reported that the woman was blocking the family members from leaving the apartment.
Upon arrival, officers staged on a second-floor landing of the apartment building, just outside the unit’s door. After unsuccessfully attempting to speak to the woman, officers heard a loud banging noise and the woman’s screams, police said.
Officers then forced entry into the apartment, believing that the woman was attempting to “gain access” to the victims. Once inside, they encountered the woman and again shouted orders at her to drop the knife.
She refused, police said, and charged officers while holding up the knife. Officers simultaneously tased and shot her at that moment.
The woman was transported to a local hospital, where she later died. On Sunday, police identified her as 23-year-old Joanna Lua.
No other injuries were reported. A 10-inch bread knife was recovered at the scene.