A Loudoun County sheriff's deputy shot and killed an unwieldy woman who came at him with him with a knife at a busy Costco on Wednesday afternoon, the Washington Post reported. Mhai Scott, who is reportedly 38, waived a knife at sheriff's deputies once they arrived at the scene. When an officer attempted to use a stun gun after she went after them reportedly "did not work," another officer then fired a gun, killing her. One officer was injured.
"It's a tragic situation, I feel for everybody involved," store manager Renne Haber told the Washington Post.
"Everybody was running out of the building not knowing what was going one," another eyewitness said. "I was a little scared so I got out of there pretty quick."
Haber said Scott, who had been serving Scott pizzas, began saying "crazy things." Haber then grabbed a knife from another station and began making "strange movements," according to reports. Chapman said that investigators continue to interview witnesses and are reviewing surveillance tapes but that he feels "confident in the way our deputies responded," news reports said.
Nora LaTeef, another eyewitness, said that in a matter of moments her normal day at Costco where she went to grab groceries and sit down for a smoothie soon became a scene of pandemonium. Once she say the deputies, she knew they " were coming in for action." Once Scott was not being cooperative with authorities, employees and customers began screaming: "Get out of the Costco! Get out of Costco!"
LaTeef said the incident was frightening.
"It was really horrible," she said. "You don't feel safe, and this is our back yard. Costco is our back yard. You go there all the time."
