A man is speaking out after he witnessed a naked woman with a gun, who ran down near the Bay Bridge toll plaza and opened fire during Tuesday’s evening commute. Velena Jones reports.
New video obtained by NBC Bay Area Wednesday shows the shocking moments a naked woman with a gun ran down on the Bay Bridge and opened fire during Tuesday’s evening commute.
Commuters driving eastbound captured the chaos as the California Highway Patrol shut down all eastbound lanes coming off the Bay Bridge and the traffic was backed up for miles.
Cellphone video shows the woman walking across lanes of traffic, then pointing a gun and firing at several cars as they pass by.
But the incident started earlier in the middle of the Bay Bridge, just before 5 p.m. Tuesday. CHP received reports of a woman driving erratically on the bridge.
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Investigators said the woman got out of her car twice in the middle of traffic. Once armed with a knife. Then, she got back into her car and continued her drive towards Oakland.
When the woman stopped and got out again near the toll plaza, this time she was naked and armed with a pistol and started shooting in the air and at cars, hitting multiple vehicles.
“It became pretty clear immediately she was experiencing some sort of mental health crisis,” said CHP officer Andrew Barclay.
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Barclay said the woman eventually surrendered near the I-880 ramp and is now on a mental health hold at a local hospital.
While investigators are looking into what sparked the dangerous situation and if alcohol or drugs played a factor, Barclay said the woman will likely face several charges.
“Due to the severity of the incident here, there are criminal charges that can be filed. So what we have to do is we have to allow the hospital to do their job. Give her the treatment and help that she needs and then once she is released from that, then, we can take her into custody,” Barclay said.
Despite multiple vehicles hit by gunfire, CHP said that no one was injured. It was a dangerous situation and law enforcement said it was unlike anything they have seen before.
“We are grateful no one was harmed in this incident. Our officers were able to get there, deescalate that situation, get her to drop her weapon and take her into custody. I don’t have anything to parallel this to. I don’t have another incident that I can compare this to,” Barclay said.
