A 66-year-old woman was shot and killed by a police sergeant after she charged at him with a baseball bat in her Bronx home Wednesday evening, the NYPD said.

Police were responding to a neighbor's complaint about a woman behaving "in an irrational manner" in her Pugsley Avenue building near Randall Avenue in Castle Hill at 6:06 p.m., the NYPD said.

Sgt. Hugh Barry was among the officers who entered Deborah Danner's seventh-floor apartment, which police had visited before, sources said. Inside, she threatened them with a pair of scissors she was clasping, police and sources said.

The sergeant calmed down Danner, who was wearing a night gown, and convinced her to put down the scissors, but as he was about to try to escort her out of the apartment she grabbed a baseball bat, police and sources said.

Officers repeatedly asked Danner to drop the bat, but she suddenly charged and swung at the sergeant's head, sources said.

Barry "fired two shots from his service revolver striking her in the torso," the NYPD and sources said.

Barry had a Taser, but did not use it, sources said.

Danner was taken to Jacobi Medical Center where she was pronounced dead, officials said.

The incident is being investigated by the NYPD's Force Investigation Division and a full review will be conducted, police said.

Barry was placed on modified assignment and stripped of his gun and badge pending the outcome of the investigation.

The incident recalls another fatal shooting of a Bronx woman, Eleanor Bumpurs, who several decades ago was shot and killed by police in her apartment when she was cooking lye on a stove and then lunged at officers with a knife.

That incident sparked a controversy over police tactics.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. recalled the Bumpurs case in a statement, saying Tuesday evening's shooting was "all too reminiscent" of what had happened decades earlier.

"While I certainly understand the hard work our police officers undertake to keep the streets of our city safe every single day, I also know what excessive force looks like," Diaz said in a statement.

"I call on Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and District Attorney Darcel Clark to begin an immediate investigation."

The state attorney general's office now investigates all fatal police shootings under an order from Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Schneiderman's office recently brought charges against an off-duty Brooklyn officer who shot and killed a motorist during an alleged "road rage" incident.

Ed Mullins, president of the sergeants union, said the shooting was justified and criticized the NYPD for placing Barry, an eight-year-veteran with an unblemished record, on modified duty, saying the move was "politically motivated."

"This is a terrible message," Mullins said.

Source: dnainfo.com

Date Posted: Wednesday, October 19th, 2016 , Total Page Views: 1464