May 15, 2024
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
A 23-year-old woman was fatally shot by police after leading them on a chase from Wilmington, Delaware, to Chester, Pennsylvania. Authorities had tried to arrest her for her involvement in a shooting last year.
Wilmington Police attempted to serve a warrant for a 23-year-old woman on Tuesday afternoon, leading to a chase in Pennsylvania that ended with a crash and the fatal shooting of the woman.
Police went to arrest the woman, who was wanted in connection to a Dec. 3 shooting, shortly before noon at the 300 block of North Madison Street. The woman fled, ramming several police cars with her vehicle, police said.
The woman drove into Pennsylvania, crashed her vehicle in Chichester and fired shots at police; two members of the Delaware State Police returned fire, authorities said. The woman, whose name has not been released, took an SUV and drove into Chester.
She then crashed in Chester and broke into a nearby home at 12th and Kerlin streets, police said. She entered a third vehicle, a red sedan, and once again attempted to flee.
Police said three members of the Wilmington Police Department, five members of the Delaware State Police, one member of the Trainer Borough Police Department and one member of the Chester Police Department discharged their firearms while the woman was in her vehicle. The woman died of her injuries in the car, police said.
A Wilmington Police officer was taken to a hospital with a minor injury, but officials reported no other injuries. All lanes of Interstate 95 closed from exits 4 to 6 for about an hour.
The Delaware County District Attorney's Office, Wilmington Police Criminal Investigations Division and the Office of Professional Standards are investigating the incident. Wilmington Police placed its officers who fired shots on administrative duty, pending the ongoing investigation.
