A woman who brought an unloaded gun into the lobby of WSOC-TV is undergoing a mental health evaluation today. 51-year-old Wendy Naidas entered Charlotte’s ABC affiliate just before 5pm Tuesday as more than 200 employees were inside. She was taken into police custody without struggle. No one was hurt during the incident.
When she arrived at the station, Naidas approached a WSOC security guard who, during the exchange, pulled out his own weapon and put it to her head. Authorities were immediately called. All employees were sent an email to evacuate the building. Naidas has been taken to Carolinas Medical Center Main for evaluation, according to police. She was then taken to police headquarters for processing.
The station went off the air for about an hour and the building was locked down.
So what was Naidas’ motive?
No one was taken hostage or injured and police took the woman into custody, said WSOC-TV’s general manager Joe Pomilla to The Associated Press.
She was not angry with the station and felt it was a place she could speak her mind, Pomilla said to the AP. “She came here because she wanted attention,” Pomilla said to the AP, adding that the woman was talking about “financial issues. She was in an accident and said she needed help.”
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police spokesman told the AP the woman was only a threat to herself — not to anyone in WSOC-TV’s studios in Charlotte. It’s unlikely charges will be filed against her.