Boulder police shot and killed a woman who brandished replica gun near the North Boulder Recreation Center Sunday after the woman allegedly pointed a gun at a person in his car, eluded police and did not comply with police orders, according to police. 

Boulder Police Deputy Chief Ron Gosage said at a Monday press conference officers initially responded to the call at 4:10 p.m. Sunday from a driver who said he was approached by a woman who pointed a gun at him while he was trying to drive out of the recreation center parking lot.

Gosage said he did not know why she pointed what appeared to be a weapon at people.

The first officers arrived at the scene two minutes after the call came in, at 4:12 p.m., then found the woman who appeared to be armed at 4:14 p.m. 

She did not comply with officers’ verbal commands and started walking north on Broadway, according to Gosage.

Officers told her that if she did not comply, they would use force against her, but she allegedly continued walking into a residential area off of Broadway, Gosage said. 

They followed her and used “less lethal” attempts to get her to comply for about 15 minutes.

Gosage did not clarify what exactly those attempts were.

The woman did not stop or show her hands and pulled what appeared to be a gun from her purse. When officers’ attempts at de-escalation “proved unsuccessful,” two officers — whose names have not been released — shot the woman at 4:26 p.m.

They attempted CPR and other life-saving procedures and Boulder Fire Rescue arrived a few minutes later to help, but she died at the scene after about 40 minutes. 

Her identity will be released by the Boulder County Coroner’s Office pending an autopsy and after next of kin are notified.

Officers discovered later that the gun she was holding was a replica Beretta pistol, which District Attorney Michael Dougherty said does not function like a real gun but looks very similar. 

The fact that the gun was a replica “makes it all the more tragic,” Dougherty said.

A resident of the neighborhood where the shooting happened caught the women walking by his home and police chasing her on video.

The video shows the woman, wearing a green jacket, jeans and pink ball cap and shoes, walking across the street carrying what appears to be an armful of black jackets. In her other hand, she’s holding what looks like a gun.

The video then shows six armed officers walk past and several police cars with lights and sirens on drive in the direction she walked. The officers are seen running and the video captures an unintelligible loudspeaker message from police followed by distant yelling then four distinct gunshots. 

No officers or other people were injured in the incident.

Earlier in the day at the same recreation center, police got a trespassing call about the same woman in a bathroom refusing to leave. Officers escorted her off the property.

Following the shooting, Boulder Police Department notified the Boulder County Critical Incident Team — a multi-agency team that investigates officer use of force.

When the investigation ends, the team will turn the results over to the district attorney’s office for a determination of whether or not the use of deadly force was justified.

Given the incident’s time of day, there were many civilian witnesses, and Dougherty urged anyone who saw anything related to the incident to reach out to the Boulder Police Department.

“It is an absolute tragedy anytime there is a loss of life,” Dougherty said. “I can promise you that the investigation is going to be thorough as it should be anytime an officer uses deadly physical force.”

The investigation is in the early stages, so officials said they would not release the officer’s names or elaborate on exactly what happened between the victim and the officers during the shooting. 

The two officers who shot the woman are on paid administrative leave.