By Bryant-Jon Anteola
The Fresno Bee
FRESNO, Calif. — A Fresno police officer ordered a woman to drop a knife on six different occasions before fatally shooting her during a hostage situation in April, body camera video showed.
Fresno police on Friday released footage of the officer-involved shooting, providing context of how and why armed suspect Joanna Lopez , 39, ended up dead.
The shooting happened on the morning of April 10 near a Fresno Area Express bus stop along Blackstone Avenue near Manchester Mall.
Video footage shows Lopez grabbing a 68-year-old woman and holding a knife close to her while also using the woman as a “human shield,” police said.
The hostage situation lasted about 90 seconds, based on footage.
After multiple commands to drop the knife and shouting both “I do not want to shoot you,” and “You’re going to get shot,” the officer fired his gun once from approximately 10-20 feet away.
Police Chief Mindy Casto said on the day that Lopez was shot that the suspect was struck in the head area “because they were in such close proximity when the shooting happened.”
Police later learned that the weapon Lopez had been holding was a carving knife with a 6-inch blade.
Police said the hostage did not know the suspect and that she was not injured — neither were any officers involved or bystanders or animals that could be seen in the video.
Fresno police said officers were called to the scene after a FAX bus supervisor called police to report a possible suicidal situation with a woman holding a knife to her throat.
This critical incident remains under investigation, and findings will be handed over to the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office, Internal Affairs and the Office of Independent Review .
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