Tensions escalated quickly Tuesday at a Department of Motor Vehicles office in Kansas City, Missouri, when a woman got fed up with the line and, after being asked to leave, fired a gun in the parking lot.
Witnesses said Vanessa Richey, 34, became belligerent, using foul language and complaining that the wait time was “ridiculous.” Court documents described her saying it was a “matter of national security” that she be helped immediately, and the “president’s life was in danger.”
She proceeded to curse at staff and shoved a printer off the counter.
“She just wasn’t very happy about the wait at the DMV,” said Kansas City Police Officer Darin Snapp.
Richey allegedly fired off a few rounds into a mulch bed outside. A retired officer happened to be in line and held her at gunpoint until additional law enforcement arrived. No one was injured in the incident.
Platte County prosecutors charged her with making a terrorist threat and unlawful use of a weapon. Richey is now in custody at the Platte County Detention Center, unable to post a $100,000 cash bond.
The woman could face up to seven years in prison.
“Something was wrong, I don’t know what it is — drugs, mental or whatever — but she just insisted on getting taken care of immediately,” said Patricia Zick, a witness to the event.
