TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. - A deadly officer-involved shooting is under investigation in Temple Terrace.


What You Need To Know



Two Temple Terrace Police officers were involved in the confrontation outside City Hall Friday and are now under investigation.

One of the officers was the target of a knife-wielding woman, while the other came to his aid. The confrontation was caught on surveillance video.

In the video, the officer can be seen approaching the woman, who was seated on a bench. She then draws the large knife and lunges at the officer, swinging the knife at him as he backs away.

The confrontation then moves out of view of the camera. That's when the officer shot the woman, later identified as 22-year-old Heba Momtaz Al-Azhari.

Al-Azhari later died at the hospital.

"It's a very traumatic thing for an officer to pull his weapon and much less take a life," said Temple Terrace Police Chief Kenneth Albano while speaking about the incident.

Albano said the officer repeatedly told Al-Azhari to drop the knife. He yelled the commands so loudly that Albano said he could hear them from his third-floor office.

Spectrum Bay News 9 has confirmed that Al-Azhari is the sister of a man accused of terrorism.

A family spokesperson told Spectrum Bay News 9 she was upset over her brother's arrest earlier this week. The spokesperson said his name is Muhammed Momtaz Al-Azhari.

Twenty-three-year-old Muhammed Momtaz Al-Azhari is accused of trying to buy guns illegally and planning an attack somewhere in Tampa.

His criminal history includes terrorism charges in Saudi Arabia.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has since taken over investigation of the shooting.