NEW YORK CITY, NY –
A Queens woman who relatives say called 911 for help was shot by an NYPD officer after police entered a Jamaica home and found a chaotic scene involving a knife and several injured people.
Shanequa Donovan, 38, survived and was reported in stable condition. Her family says she had taken the knife away from her brother and was trying to protect relatives. Police say she moved toward officers while holding the weapon.
Those accounts agree on several central facts. Donovan called for help after violence broke out inside the home Friday night. Officers entered after she dropped keys from a window. Three men had suffered stab wounds, and Donovan was holding a knife when police reached an attic bedroom.
What happened in the seconds before the gunfire remains disputed.
NYPD Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera said officers identified themselves and repeatedly ordered everyone to raise their hands. According to Rivera, the two men complied, but Donovan did not raise her right hand and moved toward officers with the knife.
One officer fired, striking her three times. Another officer deployed a Taser. Police provided aid before she was taken to Jacobi Medical Center.
Donovan’s boyfriend, Edward Grant, offered a different account. He said she had taken the knife from her brother and was about to put it down when the officer fired. Grant told reporters that Donovan may not have realized she was still holding it.
Grant said the violence began when Donovan’s brother attacked relatives. He described Donovan as the person who called police, helped them enter the house and tried to stop the assault.
Police said officers did not have a description of the attacker before entering. Rivera also said officers did not believe Donovan was responsible for the earlier stabbings.
Rashawn Donovan, 48, was later taken into custody, according to reporting by NBC New York. The criminal allegations against him have not been proven in court.
The shooting was captured on body-worn cameras and is under investigation by the NYPD Force Investigation Division. That footage is likely to be central because it can show the distance between Donovan and the officers, the commands given, her movement and the time available to respond.
The existence of video does not answer those questions by itself. The department must preserve the complete recordings, explain when each officer activated a camera and release enough evidence for the public to evaluate the competing accounts.
The case also raises a broader emergency-response question. A caller seeking protection can become the person police shoot when officers enter a confusing scene without knowing who initiated the violence.
No public finding has established that the shooting was justified or improper. The investigation remains open, and the officer’s identity had not been publicly released as of Sunday morning.
Sources
ABC7 New York, Woman Shot by NYPD Officers Responding to Stabbing at Queens Home
NBC New York, Arrest in Queens Incident as Relatives Say Woman Shot by NYPD Had Dialed 911
CBS New York, Queens Resident Says Woman Shot by NYPD Was a Victim
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