KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Update (6/25):
The Knoxville Police Department has identified three officers involved in the shooting death of a 49-year-old woman.
Officers Arim Ismail, Riley Lackey and Tisha Knickerbocker all fired at Shilo Rice after she ran towards them while armed with a knife, according to KPD.
Ismail has served since February 2023 and is currently assigned to the Field Operations West District. Lackey has served since September 2020 and is also assigned to the Field Operations West District. Knickerbocker was sworn in as a KPD officer in March 2024 and is currently in the Field Training Officer program, KPD said.
All three officers have been placed on routine administrative leave.
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At around 7:17 a.m., the Knoxville Police Department officers responded to a home in the 2000 block of Belle Terra Road. Police said they responded to reports of a woman armed with a knife and threatening to harm herself and others.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified her as Shilo M. Rice, 49.
After arriving at the scene, KPD said the woman ran from the house and towards them while armed with a knife. Three officers then fired, striking her multiple times.
KPD rendered aid until an ambulance arrived. The woman was then taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center where she was later pronounced dead, according to KPD.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation.
The three officers have been placed on routine administrative leave and the Office of Professional Standards will conduct an internal administrative investigation, KPD said.
Their names have not been released.
This is the third time since April that KPD officers have been involved in fatal shootings.
On the afternoon of April 17, an officer shot and killed a man armed with two knives who ran at him and a witness from inside a Fountain City Exxon on Broadway.
On the morning of April 27, officers responded to a domestic dispute in a house in the 4700 block of Santala Drive. When they entered the house, Jamauri D. Griffin shot a woman in the face. The officers then shot and killed Griffin.
Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen is reviewing the conduct of officers in both shootings, which is standard procedure. Deputy DA Sean McDermott said Thursday her reviews are ongoing.
According to the TBI, there have been 23 police shootings across the state so far this year.
In 2023 and 2022 there were 50 reported police shootings. In 2021, the TBI reported a high of 55 shootings, and 2020 saw 46 shootings.
In Knox, Blount and Sevier counties, there was a combined total of three shootings in 2023. That number has more than doubled to eight shootings in 2024, with five of those involving Knox County law enforcement.
Blount County and Knox County saw increases from no shootings and one shooting in 2023, respectively, to two shootings and five shootings this year. Sevier County has seen around one shooting each of the past three years. The only year a shooting was not reported in Sevier County was in 2019.
This is a developing story.