Fatal deputy shooting of woman near Lancaster came after call for family disturbance

A sheriff’s deputy shooting that left a woman dead Tuesday night near Lancaster came after a call for a family disturbance involving a possibly mentally ill person, authorities said Wednesday.

Just before 6 p.m., deputies responded to the 25300 block of Abacus Avenue regarding a “family disturbance, possibly mentally ill person,” the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

The deputies said they found a woman holding a knife at the location.

The woman allegedly ran at deputies with the knife, at which point she was shot and subsequently pronounced dead at the scene.

The Sheriff’s Department did not identify the woman, reveal her age or say whether mental health resources had been called to the scene before the shooting.