74-year-old woman uses bear spray outside Lafayette Trader Joe’s during argument

LAFAYETTE, Calif. – A 74-year-old woman was arrested after Lafayette police said she shot bear spray outside her car during some type of argument in the Trader Joe’s parking lot, which ended up affecting eight people.

Bear spray during argument

What we know:

In a Facebook post, police said Monica Thomas of Oakland was booked on Saturday at the Martinez Detention Facility on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful use of tear gas. Efforts to speak to Thomas were not immediately successful. 

Lafayette police said that about 10:40 a.m. that day, officers were dispatched to the store in the 3600 block of Mount Diablo Boulevard on report of some type of argument. Witnesses said that a person had sprayed bear spray in the parking lot before taking off in her car.

Thomas had allegedly sprayed the bear spray twice from the driver’s side of her car before driving away, police said.

Police caught up with her on westbound Highway 24 after witnesses had told police her license plate, police said. 

A total of eight people were exposed to the bear spray, police said. Contra Costa County Fire Protection District responded and treated the victims on scene. One was transported to the hospital.

What we don’t know:

What the argument was about has not been revealed.