A Texas police officer shot to death a 93-year-old woman who was holding a gun in the town of Hearne on Tuesday.
Officer Stephen Stem shot Pearlie Golden outside a home on Pin Oaks Street after police arrived in response to a 911 call about a woman waving a gun at around 6:30 p.m., KBTX-TV reported.
The officer asked Golden to lower the weapon, and shot her when she did not comply, according to police reports. The elderly woman was taken to a hospital where she later died, causing an investigation into Stem and an uproar in the town about the officer's use of deadly force.
"While it is too early in the investigation to comment on any of the facts or evidence...I can say that this was a very tragic occurrence," District Attorney Coty Siegert for Robertson County said according to KBTX-TV. "My prayers go out to the family members of Miss Golden and to the Hearne Community as a whole."
The incident began when Golden's nephew called 911 because she was waving a gun at him. His aunt was reportedly upset because her nephew would not hand over her car keys, which he took away after the state refused to renew her driver's license.
When Stem arrived he told Golden to "put down the weapon and then ultimately fired his own sidearm, wounding Miss Golden," according a press release from the district attorney's office.
Witnesses say the officer shot Golden at least five times. The elderly woman was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Stem is currently on administrative leave while prosecutors seek to present the case to a grand jury, KBTX-TV reported. It is not yet known why Stem felt threatened enough to shoot the 93-year-old.
"Even if she did have a gun, she is in her 90s," town resident Lawanda Cooke said of Golden, who was said to be a sweet woman, the station reported. "They could have shot in the air to scare her. Maybe she would have dropped it. I don't see her shooting anyone."
Stem was investigated for a previous deadly shooting in 2012 when he killed a man police say was shooting a gun from a car in Hearne. A grand jury chose not to indict Stem.
