“It appears she just walked in off the street,” Duscha said, crediting the “skill of our negotiators to keep the situation under control and convince her that her best option was to come out and give up.”

The woman never threatened the four or five employees and allowed them to leave. She did not point her gun at responding officers either, police said.

Carl’s co-owner Mike DeSpain said the woman came into the office at about 4:30 p.m., showed a gun on her hip and said she was taking herself hostage.

“She’s holding herself hostage, those were her exact words,” a frantic DeSpain said down the street from his business as police cars blocked off the street and pushed spectators back. “She said she wanted TV crews and the ACLU to talk about human rights abuses.”

DeSpain had no idea who the woman was. While the woman said she wanted to tell “her side of the story” it was unclear what she was upset about. Duscha said the negotiators’ conversation with her was incoherent at times.

DeSpain said he briefly tried talking with the woman, but it was clear she was not in her right mind and he was focused on getting his employees out.