The prosecutor's office has identified the woman as 34-year-old Michele Moleti, of Passaic. She was shot six times, in the chest, neck and arm, last night. Prosecutors say she is in guarded in condition at St. Joseph's Medical Center in Paterson and it appears, at this time, that the shooting was justified.
But those who saw it say they are still puzzled and troubled by it.
Neighbors saw the blue and red police lights and heard the loud noises that cut through the air.
"I heard like a clapping," witness Alice Essing said. "I assumed it was either firecrackers or gunshots."
The sound was police shooting a woman who they say was unarmed, but trying to run them down with her car. They had initially approached the woman in her car in Clifton hours earlier. She was allegedly slumped over the wheel.
By morning, neighbors were recalling the beginning of the story on Clinton Avenue. They say the woman was parked there for four to five hours.
"When I saw that car, I'm looking like, cars don't get parked in front of a house for a few hours," neighbor Hencer Harmony said.
Police arrived and reportedly tried to wake Moleti. When she didn't respond, police opened her door with a slim jim. They say that's when she relocked the door and fled, leading officers on a chase that ended in Passaic.
Officers caught up to her on Lafayette Avenue when her car spun out of control. As officers got out of their patrol cars and approached the car, the woman tried to run them down.
The officers opened fire, striking her six times.
"We had the fire trucks, police cars, running around in circles, sliding in the snow," neighbor Carole David said. "I was amazed at this whole thing."
Prosecutors say the woman could face criminal charges, including attempting to assault a police officer, resisting arrest and eluding a police officer.
Authorities say Moleti has a suspended drivers licenses for previous traffic violations and prior disorderly conduct arrests.
