An armed woman sitting in a car in Santa Rosa on Saturday inhaled nitrous oxide from a whipping cream container in front of police before being arrested for having a gun and ammunition inside her vehicle, police said.
The bizarre unfolding began around 12 p.m. when police were alerted to reports of a woman sitting in her car, which was parked near the public entrance of the emergency department at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, with a gun in her possession, according to police.
The first officer on scene carried on a conversation with the female and other passengers in the car until other units arrived, police said. At one point, the woman "began taking hits off a 'whip-it cracker' in an attempt to get high from the nitrous oxide," according to police.
Officers eventually pulled the woman from the car and took her into custody, police said. After combing through the vehicle, police found a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol and loaded magazine inside a purse resting on the floor of the car. That purse was located directly beneath where the woman was sitting.
Police said they do not believe the woman flashed the gun in a "threatening manner" at anyone walking outside the hospital.
The woman was arrested and charged with inhaling nitrous oxide with intent to get high and carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle, police said.
