Another armed standoff in Mobile, ALEA believes woman had mental health crisis

By Ariel Mallory

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    MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) — This story is going to sound eerily similar to what we all saw Monday.

…another standoff in Mobile.

But this one was brief and it ended without anyone getting hurt.

State troopers say a woman led them on a chase down 165, drove home, and then refused to come out of her SUV.

The standoff happened on Muriel Avenue around 3:00 Tuesday afternoon.

Guns were drawn as MPD officers and state troopers surrounded the woman’s vehicle.

According to ALEA, troopers tried to pull her over for speeding, but she refused to stop and led them on a chase reaching speeds in excess of 100mph.

Investigators believe she was having a mental health crisis.

Julius Perry, a close friend of the woman, says not talking about mental health is a part of the problem.

Perry says the woman suffers from paranoia.

“Wherever she went she got depressed and got upset with wherever she was at,” Perry explained. “Apparently, she realized that she was out in the streets which she shouldn’t have been and she probably saw a police car or a state trooper car and she took off.”

After taking off, the woman drove herself home, where the pursuit ended. She then locked herself up inside her SUV.

After about 20 minutes she surrendered peacefully and was taken to the hospital.

Perry says this isn’t the first time something like this has happened, and it’s likely she was having a mental episode.

“She’s as sweet as she can be. She’s good. She’d do anything in the world for you,” Perry said. “And if she’s not on her medication she’ll fall into that depression. And it’s sad that this kind of stuff happens because of mental-ness.”

Tuesday’s incident had chilling similarities to what we all saw Monday.

A man having a mental crisis holed up inside a car in downtown Mobile.

This one ended tragically after an hours-long standoff. MPD says Terrance Duncan shot himself after tear gas was fired inside his vehicle on Government Street.

He died at the hospital.

Perry wants people to pay more attention to the seriousness of mental health and hopes his friend gets the help she needs.

“I hope she gets that help and I hope she pays more attention to it knowing now that what occurred today was a little bit more severe than the last time,” he said. “I hope this time she would just acknowledge the fact that, hey I need this help.”

No one was hurt.

ALEA didn’t say if the woman is facing any charges.

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