Woman shot by police in Knox County after she threatened officers with pitchfork
A woman was flown to a Lexington hospital after being shot by sheriff’s deputies Tuesday night in Knox County, according to Kentucky State Police.
The shooting happened around 10:15 p.m. on Sugar Maple Drive in the Green Road community of Knox County. KSP said Knox County dispatch received a call that a woman, 53-year-old Daisy Allen, was barricaded inside her home and making suicidal threats.
When deputies with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office arrived at Allen’s home, they were sprayed with an unknown substance, according to KSP. The deputies attempted to subdue Allen with nonlethal measures, such as a taser and pepper spray, but the methods were reportedly ineffective.
Allen, allegedly armed with a pitchfork, then threatened to kill the deputies, KSP says, and one deputy responded by shooting Allen in the abdomen.
She was originally taken to a local hospital before being flown to the University of Kentucky Medical Center for further treatment, according to trooper Shane Jacobs. The latest update said she remains in critical condition.
Knox County sheriff’s deputies were not injured, but needed treatment to their faces from the unknown spray, according to KSP.
KSP is investigating the shooting, a routine practice when law enforcement officers fire their weapons while responding to incidents.
“KSP is committed to being transparent while ensuring the integrity of the investigation,” KSP said in a statement. “To protect the integrity of an ongoing investigation, it is KSP’s standard operating procedure not to release specific details until vital witnesses have been interviewed and pertinent facts have been gathered.”
There were three shootings involving Kentucky police Tuesday. One happened in Berea, where a man allegedly pinned an officer between two vehicles before at least one officer fired his gun into the vehicle to stop the incident.
The other happened in Boone County, where officers shot and killed a man at an Amazon facility.
This story was originally published April 30, 2025 at 8:19 AM.
