The Longview Police Department placed three officers on leave after a 17-year-old girl was shot and killed in the lobby of the station last week, the Marshall News Messenger reported.
According to officials, Kristiana Coignard entered the Texas police station on Thursday evening brandishing a weapon. Police spokeswoman Kristie Brian said Coignard used a phone in the lobby to call police dispatch and asked to see an officer.
When officers arrived in the lobby, she “came at the officers” with a weapon, according to Brian. Police did not confirm what type of weapon Coignard had, but Longview Mayor Jay Dean said that she was carrying a knife, according to the Marshall News Messenger.
Justice of the Peace James Mathis said Coignard was shot “multiple times,” according to the Marshall News Messenger.
Police have not released many details about the incident. It remains unclear why Coignard entered the police station and what occurred before she was shot.
The 17-year-old was living with her aunt, Heather Robertson, who told ThinkProgress that her niece had been struggling with mental illness.
“I think it was a cry for help,” Robertson said about Coignard’s actions last week. “I think they could have done something. They are grown men. I think there is something they are not telling us.”
Robertson said her niece has struggled with depression and bipolar disorder since her mother died when she was four years old. Coignard has been hospitalized twice after trying to commit suicide. Robertson told ThinkProgress that Coignard “was only violent with herself.”
The three officers involved in the incident were placed on leave, and the Texas Rangers are investigating the shooting.
