Deputies fatally shoot woman suspected of domestic violence

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee sheriff’s deputies fatally shot a woman who was a suspect in a domestic violence incident, officials said.

Shelby County deputies stopped a vehicle Saturday afternoon in Bartlett that matched the description of one involved in a domestic call in Fayette County earlier in the day, authorities said.

“For reasons still under investigation, as officers approached the vehicle, shots were fired, and the driver was struck,” the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said. Melissa S. Horton, 43, was pronounced dead at the scene, the agency said.

The Fayette County Sheriff’s office said in a statement that deputies there responded to a call near Somerville where a woman had pulled a shotgun on her fiancé and struck him in the head with the barrel of the gun, news outlets reported. Both the man and the suspect fled the residence and authorities put out a description of the car Horton was driving, along with the tag numbers.

Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are working to independently determine events leading to the shooting, including collecting evidence and conducting interviews, the agency said.

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