Officer shoots woman driving stolen car

A woman in a stolen car was shot and killed by a New York City police officer in Brooklyn Thursday, but it was unclear whether the shooting was intentional or accidental.

Officers in an unmarked police car saw a stolen gray Toyota Camry traveling erratically on Church Avenue about 5:40 p.m., police said, going through red lights at East 40th Street, East 39th Street and East 38th Street, before colliding with a minivan at 38th Street.

The Camry had been taken on June 5, police said, in a carjacking with a firearm. The police car pulled alongside the stolen car at the crash site, and the female driver, 23, moved to the unoccupied passenger side and opened the door, police said.

One officer, attempting to enter the Camry from the passenger side was thrown back when the woman opened the door, police said.

A second officer, with his gun in hand, was entering the car from the driver's side, police said.

He was "attempting with his other hand to shift the gear into park, when a single round was discharged from the firearm, striking the woman in the chest," police said, in a news release.

A police department spokeswoman declined to release any additional information Thursday night concerning the incident.

The driver, identified only through fingerprint records, was taken to Kings County Hospital where she was pronounced dead, police said. The minivan driver was also taken to that hospital and treated for minor injuries, police said.

The identity of the dead woman was being withheld Thursday night, police said, pending notification of her family.