Authorities have identified the woman who was fatally shot by police in Bath on Thursday evening.
Jeanne A. Seto, 36, died of multiple gunshot wounds after New Hampshire State Police and local police departments responded to a report that she was armed and driving to confront a family member with whom she had been in a dispute.
At about 7:04 p.m. on Oct. 8, law enforcement located Seto’s vehicle on Route 112 heading toward Bath.
Authorities said Seto did not comply with commands to stop her vehicle, which led to a pursuit that ended after a spike strip was deployed. Seto’s vehicle stopped south of the intersection of Route 112 and Route 302.
According to a press release from the Attorney General’s Office, which investigates every use of deadly force by law enforcement, Seto was armed with a handgun when officers approached her vehicle.
During the interaction, she suffered gunshot wounds and was transported to an area hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. It remains unclear who fired first.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Seto’s death a homicide. The names of the officers who fired their weapons have not been released, and the investigation is ongoing.
This is the eighth officer-involved shooting in New Hampshire this year. It is rare for a victim of lethal force to be a woman. Since January 2023, there have been 30 instances of police shootings in New Hampshire, only three of which involved a female civilian.
State law allows police to use lethal force if they reasonably believe their lives or the lives of others are in danger, and the attorney general regularly rules that they are legally justified.
