NYC cops shot and kill 65 year old woman who refuses to drop a knife Original Article Feb 17, 7:26 AM EST NY police shoot woman in stabbing incident By TOM HAYS Associated Press Writer NEW YORK (AP) -- Officers shot and killed a 65-year-old woman after they said she stabbed her neighbor at least eight times in an apparent dispute over the woman's cat, and then refused their orders to drop her knife. The cat, Dickie, suffered a serious stab wound to its right eye in the attack Thursday at a two-story apartment house on Staten Island. Police spokesman Paul Browne defended the shooting, saying it appeared to be within departmental guidelines. It happened at about 8:15 a.m. after officers responded to a report of an assault in progress. When the officers arrived, a handyman said he saw Stephanie Lindboe grabbing neighbor Linda Padula by her hair and repeatedly stabbing her in the head, neck and shoulder with a kitchen knife. The officers found Padula, 59, bleeding profusely and pleading for help just inside the door of her apartment. As one of the officers went to her aid, Lindboe flung open the door of the apartment across the hall and brandished the knife over her head with both hands, police said. The officer tried to retreat and civilian witnesses heard him shout, "Police! Drop the knife! Drop the knife!" But Lindboe continued to move toward the officer, knife still raised, prompting him to fire two shots, police said. One shot hit her in the chest. The woman was pronounced dead at Staten Island University Hospital; Padula was in serious condition with eight stab wounds. Neighbors told police the argument may have been sparked because Dickie often defecated in the hallway. It was unclear how Dickie was wounded. The cat was being treated at an animal hospital. Family members told investigators that Lindboe had been under psychiatric care, but they gave no specifics about her illness.