NH AG: Woman Refused To Drop Knife Before Officer Fatally Shot Her During Northfield Domestic Incident

By Nancy West, InDepth NH

NORTHFIELD, NH — A woman who was killed in an officer-involved shooting Monday was armed with a knife near an injured woman when she was shot by police responding to a 911 call, according to news release from Attorney General John Formella.

At approximately 12:12 a.m. Monday, Northfield and Tilton police officers responded to a 911 call from an apartment at 20 Vine Street in Northfield for a report of a domestic disturbance of one adult female resident striking another resident with a fire extinguisher.

"The caller told dispatchers that the female resident, Megan L. Whiting, age 27, was striking the caller’s girlfriend, smashing objects, breaking a window, and told police to hurry. Dispatchers heard yelling in the background of the call," the release said.

"As the responding officers entered the doorway of the apartment, they saw Ms. Whiting armed with a knife within close proximity of an injured female resident. Police repeatedly instructed Ms. Whiting to drop her knife. One officer ultimately discharged his firearm. Ms. Whiting was struck by gunfire. Officers were then able to safely remove the injured female from the apartment and separate the knife from Ms. Whiting. Ms. Whiting was later pronounced deceased at the scene," the release said.

The names of the caller and the injured girlfriend were not released.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that Whiting’s cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds, and the manner of death was homicide, defined as the killing of one person by another.

No law enforcement officers, or additional private citizens, were physically injured during this incident. Pursuant to protocol, the names of the officers involved in the incident are being withheld pending the conclusion of formal interviews. One of the initial responding officers did have a body camera.

Additional information will not be released until after the interview is completed with the officer who discharged his firearm.

This article first appeared on InDepthNH.org and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.