Woman accused of stabbing mother-in-law to death in Armstrong County surrenders after 9-hour standoff

A woman was arrested following a nine-hour standoff after police said she stabbed her mother-in-law to death in Gilpin Township on Sunday evening.

Southern Armstrong Regional Police Chief Christopher Fabec said in a news release that officers were called to the area of Schenley Road on Sunday evening for a report of an elderly woman who had fallen and was bleeding. But while en route, dispatchers learned the woman may have been stabbed.

When police arrived, investigators said they found 79-year-old Rosalind Cooper dead inside the home with multiple stab wounds. Police said Cooper's son told them his mother and his wife, Mengqi Zhang, had been arguing before the stabbing.

Following the attack, police said Zhang barricaded herself inside her home nearby and refused to come out, prompting local police to establish a perimeter and call in the Pennsylvania State Police's Special Emergency Response Team.

According to the criminal complaint, Zhang also threatened to kill responding officers during the standoff.

For nearly nine hours, troopers surrounded the home as negotiators worked to get her to surrender. After several hours, the two agencies took her into custody without further incident at approximately 1:20 a.m. on Monday, state police added.

Police said Zhang later admitted she was involved in an argument with her mother-in-law and told investigators she retrieved a knife from the kitchen and stabbed her.

Zhang has since been charged with criminal homicide and aggravated assault.