Police Shoot Woman After Her Alleged Choking And Home Invasion Spree

A revenge-fueled crime spree ended in a police shooting Sunday afternoon in Staten Island, NBC New York reported. A New York Police Department officer shot 41-year-old Lori Gjenashaj in the shoulder after a series of events that began Saturday night and culminated in her brandishing a gun near police at a traffic stop.

Gjenashaj was taken to a nearby hospital where she was listed in stable condition.

Gjenashaj on Saturday allegedly choked the new best friend of her former best friend at a Staten Island private Catholic elementary school. She was arrested that night for criminal obstruction of breathing and charged with misdemeanor assault, but was released shortly thereafter, the Staten Island Advance reported.

That was only the beginning, however, as Gjenashaj reportedly began firing a starter pistol at her mother-in-law’s house on Sunday. Starter pistols can only fire blank rounds, as they are typically only used to signal the start of things like horse races. She then brought the gun with her and got into an SUV with an unidentified man.

The two of them were pulled over, but while police talked to the man, Gjenashaj sped away and sideswiped a police car on her way out. She then drove to the aforementioned former best friend’s home and broke in using a brick. The only person home at the time was the former friend’s 13-year-old son, whose phone was allegedly taken by Gjenashaj.

The son went to a neighbor’s house and called police and his mother to inform them of the bizarre situation. Gjenashaj was eventually pulled over by police, who claimed she took out the starter pistol and did not drop it as she was commanded. The responding officers fired five shots, hitting her in the shoulder one time.

She had no criminal record prior to the shooting. According to the Advance, Gjenashaj is a nurse with a son in the eighth grade and a daughter in the sixth grade.