The family of a woman who was shot by police in Pittsburgh after allegedly pulling a pistol on officers is speaking out, claiming that the woman was having a mental breakdown at the time of the shooting.

On February 24, at about 3 p.m., Pittsburgh police received a call about a suspicious-looking person inside an abandoned house in the St. Clair neighborhood.

Responding officers, including SWAT squad members, swarmed the neighborhood. They discovered a woman inside the house, and she exited with a weapon pointed at the officers, according to a news release from the department.

The woman began shooting at the officers, who returned fire and shot her. Police declared the woman dead on the scene. She was alone in the house at the time of the occurrence.

Adrienne Arrington, 39, was later identified by authorities.

Musa James, Arrington’s cousin, rushed to her defense, claiming that she was probably having a mental breakdown at the time and had no intention of hurting the cops.

According to James, who spoke to Fox News, Arrington was struggling and that the police probably did nothing to diffuse the situation.

James explained that his cousin had recently lost her mother and brother, which had taken a toll on her while she grieved.

He explained that she was in the house where her mother and brother died, and that she frequented the place after their deaths to grieve them. He also speculated that she had the gun because it was an abandoned house and she needed to feel protected.

Allegheny County Police will conduct an officer-involved shooting investigation in accordance with department procedure.

Homicide Unit officers inspected the scene and interviewed witnesses. The police department stated that more details about the case would be released in due course.

James expressed his heartbreak to the media, saying that neighbors knew she frequented the building and even slept on the back porch, and that she did not deserve to die the way she did.