An armed 47-year-old woman who’d threatened to kill herself at Cork and Pint Bar, at European Village, was in a brief, tense standoff with Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies Thursday night before she was detained and Baker Acted. She had been carrying a loaded .38-caliber gun with hollow-point bullets.
The incident took place around 9 p.m. after the woman had told a friend by text and phone that she had a gun in her purse and intended to kill herself: she had taken the gun out and showed her friend when she saw her at the bar. The weapon belonged to her boyfriend, with whom she’d had a fight. The woman, who had been drinking at the bar, had a history of suicide attempts, according to her friend, and had attempted to kill herself two weeks earlier, with pills. The friend called the cops, who then reported to the bar.
A deputy who’d been provided with a description of the armed woman confirmed her presence with the Cork and Pint Bar bartender. The woman was sitting just outside the front door, at a table to the right, near the Trademark Realty office. There were several other patrons at the establishment.
The female was sitting at a table, using her cell phone. She had a large purse directly in her lap, according to an incident report, and an open beer in front of her on the table. When the cop, after making contact with her, asked her if she had a gun in her purse, she said no. She then placed her left hand on top of the purse near the opening.
“I immediately attempted to restrict her movement by placing my hand on the purse to prevent her from opening it,” the deputy reported, “then attempted to remove the purse from her lap due to the specific suicidal threats made and there was a firearm inside of it. She tried to prevent me from removing the purse. I was then able to remove the purse from her possession and place it on a nearby table away from her reach. I then told the female to stand up as I was unsure if the female may have the firearm on her person.”
The deputy was intending to pat the woman down and place her in handcuffs. She refused to comply. “As I stood her up I informed her that I was placing her under the Baker Act,” which gives police authority to detain an individual against his or her will, and commit the person to a psychiatric unit for evaluation, if the person is determined to be a threat to self or others. The deputy was able to place the woman in handcuffs after a brief struggle.
Another deputy located located a silver Smith & Wesson .38 caliber 5-shot revolver in her purse, loaded with five live rounds of hollow point ammunition, according to the report. It was not in any type of holster or pouch. The woman did not have a concealed weapons permit.
The woman’s boyfriend was later contacted and informed of the firearm incident. He confirmed, according to the report, that his girlfriend had stolen the firearm, but he did not intend to pursue charges.
A.S.F. says
Alcohol and guns, always a good mix. This is a good reason why Doctors should be allowed to question their patients/patient’s families about a possibly unstable person having ownership of, or access to, a firearm.
Donald Trump's Tiny Fingers says
Good thing she wasn’t black.
Dave says
Well that two incidents ( two strikes) at the European Village that involved some nut with a firearm. Maybe a couple of cops at a single general entrance ( with a walk through metal detector) might one day prevent some mass shooting. When will the third strike happen.
LifeNPC says
A.S.F. –“This is a good reason why Doctors should be allowed to question their patients/patient’s families about a possibly unstable person having ownership of, or access to, a firearm.”
Exactly what would this have done to stop or even delay this situation?
“Alcohol and guns, always a good mix.” — Are you seriously blaming the alcohol?
Why is it whenever something goes wrong in this country, or the world foe that matter, we try to press the blame onto everything but the individual responsible? Just this past week, a student at Buddy Taylor Middle School used a cigarette lighter to burn the hair of another student. Guess what the comments in FlaglerLive and Facebook said, “Why did the kid have a lighter?” The real concern is not why the kid had a lighter, the real concern should be why that kid is so screwed up in the head to burn someone. A Doctor asking about guns in the home did not stop this woman from trying to commit suicide by taking pills recently, maybe we should ask what types of pills are in the house. Or better yet BAN THE PILLS!!!! Then the Doctor needs to ask the boyfriend if he owns a necktie or shoes with laces or any belts, and don’t get me started on kitchen cutlery.
Either we, as a society, need to grow up and take responsibility for our actions or we need to live in a bubble so we cannot hurt ourselves or others.
TRUMP 2016! says
The European Village must be possessed by a demon!
John says
Dave, it’s not illegal to carry a firearm in European village. Plus your metal detectors would be an infringement on people’s freedom.
Brain Johnson says
Oh my god a gun with live rounds in it and hollow points whats the world coming to. Why can’t u say a woman had a loaded firearm instead of making something out of nothing, and Dave hard to have a mass shooting with a 5 shot revolver………….
Lynn Savage says
you can’t (at least you shouldn’t) let one or even two nut jobs destroy the privacy, freedoms, good times and respect of every patron in every bar or building or whatever. Good grief. Make the idiots accountable and leave the regular folks alone.
YankeeExPat says
A.S.F. ——-” Alcohol and guns, always a good mix.” add Pit Bulls and Fireworks and what you got yourself there is what a Horse bettors would call a Flagler County Superfecta. Guaranteed injury, dismemberment or fatality.
MarkingTheDays says
This truly could have happened anywhere. No need to tear down the European Village over it.
Glenn says
This is why I avoid the village. Too much drama and violence in this place to suit me. This place needs to be tore down. I hear it is a haven for realtors and drugs.
meagan says
First off shame on you Flagler live for making something so small into something so huge and false! I was the bartender on duty that night and everything in this article is false! There was no standoff the woman was not acting threatening in any sort of way she complied with the officers when they approached her. She confided in a friend who was worried about her safety that friend then did the right thing and contacted law enforcement. Everything that happened that night went smoth and with no problems.. so again I say shame on you Flagler live for turning nothing into something!
FlaglerLive says
A woman who’s been drinking, threatening to kill herself, showing her loaded 38 and sitting in as public place as yours and other businesses at European Village, who required the intervention of cops and a Baker Act, and you call it making something out of nothing? Shame on you, Megan, for downplaying what could have been an ugly scene. Bartenders ought to be savvier to the danger their clients may pose to others. Clearly, that appears not to be your concern. It is ours.
Jack s says
You have got to be kidding Dave…metal detectors at entrance?
Leroy Tyrone Yukoshima says
Stupid comment, might as well block off entrances to all the bad neighborhoods too separate them from the rest of us as well. There’s crime and crazies all over this city. Half the shit doesn’t even make the news. If you wanna enforce a 3 strike rule should start with the revolving door at the county jail and keep some of these 5x 6x or more arrested in a year stay there. Have a great day
Outsider says
Yes A.S.F., alcohol and guns are a deadly mix. Now that’s TWO incidents with guns at a bar. Now, I wonder how every one of those drinking patrons are getting home. Are they DRIVING their cars? I wonder how many gun haters are counting the number of people leaving the bars and driving home intoxicated. Come to think of it, how many lives are ruined by drinking? I rarely drink, and it would be just fine with me if they brought back prohibition. Think of all the drunk driving deaths and injuries that would be avoided if we just banned alcohol. Think of how many children would be saved, and how many broken families would be healed.
Dave says
I guess Brain Johnson has never actually seen what kind of damage a (1) hollow point can do to a person, much less 5. . Yes I’ve seen it and its not pretty (25yr law enforcement retired). One death by a nut on purpose it way to many. And I guess Brain doesn’t remember the guy on March 15, 2014 that came into the European Lounge with an assault weapon dressed like Rambo because he was upset over something said to him. It doesn’t take much to set people off.
Cyd Weeks says
I hope she gets the help she needs…or correct meds. Sad she’s in such emotional pain.
Layla says
This boyfriend needs to explain to a sheriff what he was doing with this gun and why he didn’t report it stolen. It quite obviously was not kept secured, as it should have been.
Bc. says
Another crazy who stole a gun. folks do you no were your gun is. Lock them up when not carrying. take them out of you car no that you have a nut job around you keep you gun away from them be a responseable gun owner.
Slugger says
Better the gun was loaded with hollow point and not FMJ…Those bad boys would go through 3 people and a wall. With the hollow points they would stop at the first good size bone !!
confidential says
We reside in a so far red state were guns galore in the hands of nuts and bullies is totally accepted and then here are the consequences. Stiffer gun control laws and stiffer penalties to some owners of a gun that ends up in the hands of a child or the hands of an emotional unstable or mentally ill person and causes death of innocents and then should be able to be sued for millions on compensation to the victims families and jail will resolve good part of these abuses. Otherwise we will continue enduring risking our lives in public places anywhere like malls, theaters and promenades like the European Village. Irrational rabid gun defenders like Megan and others here is what keep our lives at risk in public. Shame!
Brain says
Dave relax so u were law enforcement all I said was hard to do a mass shooting with a 5 shot revolver. Not like she was sitting there with a AR 15 I’m a retired law enforcement of some 30yrs so relax. Also the news report was making something out of nothing,…
THE VOICE OF REASON says
FlaglerLive: What Meagan meant to say was “Shame on you for cutting into my tip income by making people think twice before coming to our bar.”
I think.
anonymous says
ohhhhh Meagan, you should win the bartender righteous award of the WEEK!!!!- insert sarcasm here—-seriously??
RT says
Voice of Reason and anonymous,
I believe Meagan is mostly referring to the “brief tense standoff” comment in the article which would have one think that the entire place went on lockdown while police held a perimeter and negotiated the woman’s surrender. The reality is a deputy walked over, grabbed her purse and placed her in custody. It was all rather uneventful really
A.S.F. says
In response to LifeNPC says–Yes, I am seriously blaming the alcohol. Alcohol is a Depressant and its most immediate effect is the lifting of inhibitions. So if you have a mood-disordered and unstable individual who is under the influence, you have a ticking time bomb. I used to work in locked behavioral unit. We routinely advised patients and family members to get rid of their firearms and any other easily available weapons that might present a danger to self and/or others in the heat of the moment. Even if a person with a Psychiatric Disorder is willing to enter treatment and/or stop medicating themselves with all the wrong substances in misguided attempts to alleviate their immediate suffering (like alcohol but that’s just one example), it takes a while for the proper medications and counseling adjuncts to take effect. Family doctors and ER personnel are often the first professionals who will encounter individuals who are seriously impaired and/or may be suffering from Brain Disorders (that may or may not be accompanied not only by substance abuse, but also by Character Disorders.) You should really leave such things to professionals–not political lobbying groups like the NRA– and not tie their hands.
A.S.F. says
…And my reply to “Outsider Says” is this: Just as I support Doctors being able to evaluate their patients for safety by asking them about their access to guns, I also support Drunk Driving laws that protect us from people who would use their cars as deadly weapons. Your effort to divert the conversation away from guns by using some ridiculous argument that involves cars is duly noted–AND rejected. It’s ironic to me that we live in a society that has finally become enlightened enough about the tragedy cause by Drunk Driving but refuses to deal with the tragedy that can result from a an intoxicated and unstable individual possessing a firearm.
IMO says
Good job by the Deputies.