A mother and her daughter are dead after police shot dead the younger woman when she was discovered stabbing her mother in what a senior officer described as a ‘terrible dilemma’.
Police responded to reports of an altercation at a property on Kent Street, Lower Plenty in Melbourne’s north-east, at 6.30pm on Friday.
Neighbor reports initially suggested the daughter wanted to set her mother on fire, but officers were instead confronted with her repeatedly stabbing the older woman when they arrived and looked over the backyard fence.
They approached the 26-year-old daughter, who was armed with a knife, and asked her to put it down before shooting her, when she did not.
The mother, 52, had already been stabbed in the neck and torso and was thought to be dead when police shot her daughter.
It is believed that the daughter had psychological problems.
Officers had responded to reports from neighbors that the daughter was trying to set her mother on fire at the Lower Plenty property, but was instead confronted with the elderly woman being repeatedly stabbed when they arrived.
The mother, 52, had already been stabbed in the neck and torso and was presumed dead by the time police shot her daughter
The entire block was cordoned off while police and forensic officers examined the area.
Neighbors reported hearing gunshots and aggressive arguments from the unit on Kent Street when police arrived.
“I went to the back of my unit, where all the noise was coming from. It was the loud, aggressive voices – voices I’ve never heard before,” Sue Keough told the Herald Sun.
Ms Keough said it was a man shouting and that he told someone to ‘put something down’.
Victoria Police Acting Chief Inspector Scott Colson said what happened was an “absolute tragedy”.
“No one goes to work wanting or expecting to draw their firearm,” Supt Colson said.
“But from what I know from witnessing the scene last night, they were faced with a terrible dilemma and they acted absolutely appropriately.”
Officers initially arrived at the wrong address before finding the two women in the neighboring house and jumping the fence to confront the daughter.
“They called for the daughter to drop the knife, but she continued to stab the mother and members had no choice but to shoot her,” Supt Colson said.
The mother, 52, died at the Kent Street property and officers were forced to fatally shoot the daughter, 26
Scott Colson, acting chief inspector of Victoria Police, said officers were faced with a “terrible dilemma”.
Only one bullet was fired and Mr. Colson said he believes the responding officers acted appropriately.
Homicide detectives will investigate the incident, under the supervision of the Professional Standards Command, which is the protocol for any incident involving the discharge of a police firearm.
Supt Colson also confirmed that responding officers are taking time off to deal with the situation.
“The members were surrounded by and received as much support as we could yesterday,” he said.
“They felt it immensely … they don’t go to work expecting to pull out their firearms and be involved in these types of tragedies.”
There were other people in the home at the time, but police have confirmed there are no other suspects at this time.
Supt Colson also revealed the younger woman was on bail on an unrelated matter.