New Brunswick, NJ
A 68-year-old woman was fatally shot by a New Brunswick police officer inside a senior housing complex after authorities arrived to investigate reports of a disturbance involving a knife.
Details of the Incident
Police responded to a Neilson Street apartment building for the elderly following complaints that a resident was walking through the hallway with a knife. Officers tried to speak with the woman through her locked apartment door. She then emerged carrying a knife. Officers deployed pepper spray and a Taser before one officer discharged their firearm, hitting the woman. She received emergency medical care at the scene and was transported to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
Investigation Underway
Per state law governing police-involved deaths, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office has taken the lead in the investigation. Authorities have not yet released the woman’s name, and no additional information about the officer involved has been made public.
Larger Context
The shooting brings renewed attention to past police use-of-force incidents in New Brunswick, including the 2020 death of Chantel Moore, an Indigenous woman who was fatally shot during a wellness check. Following that case, a coroner’s jury recommended changes to use-of-force policies. The current investigation remains ongoing, and further updates will be shared as they become available.
