Wilson's family claim she was schizophrenic and prescribed medication, but they say she was harmless

Dearborn police chased after her, and when she tried to flee again, she was shot by an officer

A Detroit woman who was shot dead by police following a chase on Wednesday was not armed with a gun, but was 'armed with a three-ton vehicle' that she was driving, police said.

Janet Wilson, 31, was shot dead by Dearborn police outside the Fairlane Town Center after nearly striking mall security with her car, officials said on Wednesday.

Her death was ruled a homicide and was caused by multiple gunshot wounds. It's the second fatal shooting involving the Dearborn police department in recent months.

Michigan State Police First Lt Michael Shaw confirmed on Thursday that Wilson was not armed with a gun, but was 'armed with a three-ton vehicle'.

Janet Wilson, 31, of Detroit, was shot dead by police outside the Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn, Michigan, after nearly striking mall security with her car, officials said on Wednesday.

Her death was ruled a homicide and was caused by multiple gunshot wounds. It's the second fatal shooting involving the Dearborn police department in recent months.

Police say they responded to a 'distraught' woman outside the mall. Wilson became 'combative' and drove away, almost hitting a mall security officer

'Armed or unarmed, what does that mean exactly?' Shaw told the Detroit Free Press. 'I think everyone wants it to be clear-cut, but more police officers are killed during the year with a vehicle than guns. ... So was she armed? Absolutely.'

Wilson's family claim she was schizophrenic and prescribed medication, but they say she was harmless, according to WJBK.

Authorities are collecting possible surveillance footage and dashcam video of the shooting, and they are re-interviewing witnesses in hopes of finding answers following the shooting.

Dearborn Police said in a statement that the department was 'deeply saddened' by the shooting and was cooperating in the investigation into the incident.

At about 4.10pm on Wednesday, mall security arrived outside JCPenny at Fairlane Mall to find a 'distraught' woman.

Witnesses described Wilson as having 'some type of mental incapacity', and soon after security arrived on scene, she became 'combative' and drove away, almost hitting a mall security officer with her black Chevrolet, Shaw said.

He added that Dearborn police chased Wilson in their vehicle, but within one or two blocks, she was stopped in traffic congestion. Officers approached her vehicle on the driver's side and tried to arrest her.

She tried to flee again, and almost hit another officer as she attempted to drive away, Shaw said.

'At that moment in time, traffic cleared, she was able to accelerate, almost striking one of the officers who was on foot,' Shaw told the Free Press. 'And one of the on scene officers discharged their duty weapon, striking the suspect and killing them.'

After she fled, she got stuck in traffic and police caught up to her. When they approached her vehicle, she tried to flee again, and almost hit another officer as she attempted to drive away, police said

When she nearly struck the officer, 'one of the on scene officers discharged their duty weapon, striking the suspect and killing them', Michigan State Police First Lt Michael Shaw said

The incident began outside of the JCPenny at Fairlane Mall in Dearborn, Michigan, at about 4.10pm on Wednesday

Wilson was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. An officer was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Shaw said he could not confirm if the officer who was involved in the shooting had been put on administrative leave following the incident.

Friends of Wilson have called her death a 'murder'.

'She was murdered,' Daryl Burke, a close family friend, told WJBK. 'That's how I feel. She was murdered.'

'There could've been a prevention of her being murdered,' friend Lorraine Bell told WJBK. 'I feel like she was murdered.'

The Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality said in a statement on Wednesday that it as 'on high alert' following the second recent fatal shooting involving the Dearborn police.

Kevin Matthews, 35, a black man from Detroit, was shot multiple times by a Dearborn officer on December 23 after a struggle, police said.

Mathews was unarmed, wanted on a probation violation warrant and suspected of larceny, police said.

Dearborn police Chief Ronald Haddad issued a statement on Thursday following Wilson's death.

The statement said: 'The Dearborn Police Department is deeply saddened by the two officer-involved fatal shooting incidents that have occurred over the past month.

'Both of the officer-involved shooting incidents are being independently criminally investigated by outside agencies, and we are totally committed to transparency and disclosure by fully cooperating with these investigations.

'While we are very proud of our long history of civil rights advocacy as well as our history of appropriate use of force, we will closely examine all of our policies and procedures to ensure that we are employing the latest training and following national best practices in all of our responsibilities to the community.