ALLENTOWN, Pa. – An investigation is underway after police shot a woman inside the former Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital in Allentown.

The Lehigh County district attorney says officers were responding to a call for a woman in distress, when the situation quickly escalated.

The shooting was not deadly, and police stress there is no threat to the public.

The incident happened Sunday evening, inside the former rehabilitation hospital on South Fifth Street. 

“The preliminary indications are that a woman was in some sort of distress, we’re not entirely sure what her situation was,” said Lehigh County DA Gavin Holihan.

When officers arrived, the woman threatened first responders, the DA says.

“She moved at them with a knife and what appeared to be another weapon,” Holihan said. “And when she refused to drop those items and moved forward to the officer, he was required to fire at her.”

Officials says one round was fired.

“It was not fatal. She received emergency services right away and then was taken to a local hospital where she received additional medical treatment,” Holihan said.

The DA says the shooting happened inside a section of the building that is not used for services or open to the public.

“She appeared to be in some sort of distress and she was allowed in so that they could summon emergency services for her,” Holihan says. “So she’s not an employee, not a resident, not a patient.”

Neighbors say the incident was unsettling.

“It’s a fairly quiet neighborhood, so it kind of rattles you when something like this occurs so close, within a block and a half or so of your home,” Karen Moll says.

The DA’s office and Allentown Police Department continue to investigate.

“Try to collect all of the evidence before we reach any conclusions on whether it was an appropriate shooting and whether any charges are appropriate either toward her or to anyone else involved,” Holihan added.

“Just hope that they get to the bottom of it,” Moll says.

The identity of the woman has not been released and she remains in the hospital.

On Sunday, Good Shepherd said its Raker Center nearby followed lockdown procedures out of an abundance of caution. All of its locations are now operating regularly.