Woman fatally shot by Henry County police

A Hampton woman died Thursday after being shot by a Henry County police officer.

Henry County police spokesman Lt. Joey Smith told WSB Radio the 911 center received three calls around 4:30 p.m. from a Cobb Court residence. In all of the calls, a woman could be heard screaming, he said. When officers arrived at the home, they also heard a woman screaming, and forcibly entered the home through a back door.

Once inside, officers encountered a woman “who was very distraught and armed with a weapon,” Smith said. While officers attempted to negotiate with the woman, she reportedly made a move toward the officers and at least one shot was fired. Smith said he believed only one shot was fired at the woman, who was rushed to Piedmont Henry Hospital, where she died a short time later.

Smith said the woman was alone in the home and her husband also called 911, but not from the home and he was not at the residence during when the police arrived.

The woman’s identity has not yet been released, but she did live at the residence with her husband, according to police.

Smith told Channel 2 Action News the Georgia Bureau of Investigation will handle the case and an autopsy is scheduled for Friday morning.

The officers involved are on paid administrative leave, according to Channel 2.