Deputies in Palm Beach County fatally shot a South Florida woman they say was holding her boyfriend at knifepoint.

Police responded to the couple's home early Tuesday morning where they said the man was trying to get a 3-year-old child away from his mother. When deputies arrived, authorities said the woman let go of the child and grabbed her boyfriend by the shirt, holding a knife in the other hand.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Teri Barbera said deputies repeatedly ordered the woman to put the knife down but she refused. When she turned to stab the man, deputies fired.

The unidentified 24-year-old woman died from her injuries.

The couple's child was not injured.

Reports say the has had previous domestic problems.