Police officers in the Inland Empire shot a woman early Wednesday morning after she set fire to a car at a gas station and threatened them with a knife, according to authorities.
According to the Colton Police Department, the incident occurred at the ARCO gas station on 1240 E. Washington Street around 12:20 a.m. on Wednesday. Officers responded to allegations that a lady armed with a knife was attempting to open car doors.
Arriving officers talked with one of the reporting parties, who informed them that the woman was inside his vehicle and refused to leave. Officers found the woman seated in the driver’s seat of a Toyota Sequoia parked near a gas pump.
The officers approached the vehicle and directed the woman to depart. Police say she refused and set fire to the interior of the vehicle.
She then exited the car, armed with a knife, and approached the officers.
That’s when the officers opened fire on the woman. Officers shot her an unknown number of times.
The woman, who remains unnamed, was taken to a nearby hospital. Authorities say she was still in critical condition on Thursday morning.
There were no further injuries reported during the incident. The fire was swiftly quenched, and the knife was found on the scene.
Both the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s Office will look into the event. No other information was immediately made available.