Woman dies after being shot by police near Alkmaar primary school

A 48-year-old woman who was shot by police officers near a primary school in Alkmaar on Wednesday, succumbed to her injuries, the Public Prosecutor said on Thursday. She was shot after she refused to follow police orders, according to the police.

The police responded to Piemstraat on Wednesday morning after multiple reports of the woman committing vandalism on the street. Responding officers ordered her to stop, but she did not listen, a police spokesperson said to NH Nieuws. The officers shot at the woman when she came at them with a knife, according to the regional broadcaster.

The incident happened near primary school Durv! located on Elgerweg in the Noord-Holland city. Parents of pupils initially called the police at about 8:10 a.m. when they saw a woman smash a window, police said. She then walked past the school with a knife and hammer in hand, NH Nieuws reported, with another local broadcaster saying she was seen screaming alongside the windows of the primary school. One witness wrote on Facebook in a since-deleted post that the woman was threatening a child in a car and shouting at them.