BERKELEY -- Neighbors of 51-year-old Anita Gay, who was shot and killed Saturday night by a Berkeley police officer, are disputing the claim that she posed a threat to the lives of her two daughters or to the officer. Sgt. Mary Kusmiss said Sunday that Gay had raised a large kitchen-style knife at the girls before being shot.

"One can close a gap in seconds with a knife," Kusmiss said.

But Chanel King, 55, who lives across the street, told the San Francisco Chronicle that Gay was shot in the back.

"She didn't make a move to go after him or anything. The only move she made was to go back into the house," King said. "This woman died for nothing."

The officer, a 5-year-veteran of the Police Department, arrived at the apartment complex at 1725 Ward St. at about 8 p.m. on reports of a domestic disturbance. The same officer had responded to the apartment a little more than an hour earlier after receiving a report that somebody had been breaking windows, Kusmiss said.

When the officer arrived for the second time, he found Anita Gay, of Berkeley, standing on a porch landing of the apartment holding a large kitchen-style knife, according to Kusmiss. The officer brandished a gun and tried to convince Gay to drop the knife.

Two of Gay's daughters came out of the apartment door onto the landing. That's when Gay allegedly turned her attention from the officer and raised her knife at her daughters, who were standing a "few feet away," Kusmiss said.

The officer then discharged his firearm at least two times at Gay, according to Kusmiss.

Gay died at the scene.

Kusmiss said given the proximity of the suspect and her family members "the officer felt the two women's lives were imminently in danger."

Police believe Gay was responsible for the broken windows, Kusmiss said, however it was not immediately clear what had prompted the domestic dispute.

Family members told police Gay may have been under the influence of a controlled substance at the time of the incident.

Kusmiss said that Gay had spent time at the residence but could not confirm whether she lived in the apartment or her exact relation to the two women whom she allegedly threatened with the knife.

"We think it's important to share that no officer wants to be in the position to use deadly force, and yet all officers are trained to," said Kusmiss.

The last officer-involved shooting in Berkeley was in July 2003 when a Berkeley officer and a couple Oakland officers shot and killed a bank robbery suspect at a Wells Fargo bank branch.

The case remains under investigation by Berkeley police homicide detectives and the Alameda County District Attorney's Office. The officer has been placed on administrative leave.