Woman armed with large knives shot, killed by deputies in Deerfield Beach

A woman armed with large knives was shot and killed by deputies in Deerfield Beach on Monday evening, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

The call came in just after 7 p.m., reporting a “suspicious person” who had multiple large knives in the area of South Federal Highway and Southeast 10th Street, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release late Monday. The woman was armed when deputies arrived, police said.

“At some point, shots were fired,” the news release said. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene by Broward Sheriff’s Fire Rescue.

Details about what led up to the shooting were not released late Monday.

As is standard procedure, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will investigate, as well as the Sheriff’s Office’s Internal Affairs.

The woman was reported to have a machete in the parking lot of the Walgreens at the intersection of South Federal Highway and Southeast 10th Street, according to first responders’ radio communications archived by the site Broadcastify.

Soon afterward, a man said over radio, “Shots fired, shots fired.”

It is at least the seventh officer-involved shooting in South Florida since January.

Earlier this month, multiple Boynton Beach Police officers shot and killed a man who was armed with a machete in the parking lot of Intracoastal Park. He had pulled the machete out on his father during an argument and charged toward officers with it when he was shot, the police department previously said and body-worn camera video showed.

In February, a man was hospitalized after a shootout with a Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy and a Lauderhill Police officer at the Calypso Cay apartments in Lauderhill, and a 39-year-old man was hospitalized after he was shot by deputies in Oakland Park while armed with a knife.

Mental health, drugs and a need for training: Fatal police shootings surged in South Florida during holidays

Fort Lauderdale Police were involved in three shootings in January. An off-duty officer shot a man at a marina and RV park on Jan. 29 after police were called about him making a disturbance. He later died at the hospital.

Earlier in January, an officer shot and killed a man who got out of his car at a gas station, armed with what appeared to be a gun after fleeing an earlier traffic stop.

On Jan. 9, officers shot and killed a man while responding to a call about someone setting a building on fire, according to Fort Lauderdale Police. When officers arrived, the building was actively on fire and the man threw “incendiary devices” at them.

This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.