Medina police fatally shots woman by County Sheriff's deputies while carrying a replica gun, knife
By: Medina police officials provided more insight into Wednesday evening's fatal shooting of an armed suspect outside of the Medina County Sheriff's Office.
During a briefing on Thursday, it was announced that Medina County Sheriff Terry Grice was the one who shot the suspect, now identified as 37-year-old Victoria Carter of Lafayette Township. In addition, police officials stated that the gun Carter was carrying at the time of her death was a "replica."
"We have a unique situation here where our county sheriff, Terry Grice, was involved in this officer-involved shooting," Medina Police Chief Edward Kinney said in explaining why his department is investigating the incident.
Kinney presented surveillance camera footage of the incident, showing Carter arriving at the Medina County Sheriff's Office and parking her car directly in front of the building. Carter is seen yelling at and running towards an approaching bystander with a knife in one hand and a gun in the other.
The bystander went to the front of the building and spoke through the sheriff's outdoor intercom system. He reported seeing an armed woman in the parking lot acting in an "unruly way." Carter is seen again coming towards the witness before he flees the area.
As Carter marches back towards the front of the sheriff's office, Grice and Medina County Sheriff's Deputy Doug Clinage can be seen approaching her from the side.
Carter initially drops the toy gun on the ground, but eventually picks it back up and charges at Grice and Clinage. According to Kinney, Clinage attempted to use a taser on Carter, but it "had no effect."
The video was stopped prior to the fatal shooting of Carter by Grice.
Kinney stated that Grice and Clinage were "understandably distraught that this tragic situation occurred."
"In a split second, it's impossible for a police officer to determine whether a firearm or a replica firearm is real or not. I think any reasonable officer would have reacted the way they did when presented with those exact same facts," Kinney added.
Kinney stated that while he was not aware of any criminal activity in Carter's past, she did have "an extensive history of mental health issues."
"We've had several calls for welfare checks with her," he explained.
Carter's boyfriend was also incarcerated at the Medina County Jail, which is located in the same complex as the sheriff's office.
Investigators are uncertain as to why Carter was at the facility and why she was armed with weapons. Kinney said that those criminal investigative elements of the case are being handled by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).