SAUGUS, MASS. (WHDH) - Heartbroken family members and friends of a Saugus mother of two who was shot and killed by police while allegedly brandishing a knife at officers on Saturday are questioning the response to what they say was a mental health call.
Stacey Gerardi said her sister Stephanie, 38, was living with mental health issues and she called the police to help her sister, as she had done before.
When police got to Stephanie’s home on Alfred Road, Stephanie showed a knife, according to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office, prompting one of the officers to shoot her three times.
The officer who shot and killed Stephanie is on administrative leave and the DA’s office is investigating the shooting. Stacey said her sister had two children, who are 7 and 8 years old, and questioned why Stephanie was shot when she just needed help.
Family friend Lisa Fuller said, “It’s not a crime to have mental health. She didn’t ask for mental health issues, nobody does. She may have mental illness, but I think more people need to be educated on mental illness before they react.”
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