WATERVILLE — Police successfully de-escalated a situation Saturday morning in the Walmart parking lot after receiving a call that a woman was threatening to hurt herself.
Waterville police went to the scene at 10 a.m., and relatives and a friend had arrived in separate vehicles and were trying to help the 20-year-old woman, according to Sgt. Alden Weigelt.
Police are not releasing the woman’s name because the incident was the result of mental illness, Weigelt said.
Weigelt and other officers parked their cruisers in the busy parking lot in Waterville Commons and had what he described as a “standoff” in their vehicles with the woman, who was emotionally distressed. She had a large knife, about 10 inches long, and was threatening to harm herself and no one else.
Weigelt said he talked with the woman for about 15 minutes and was able to calm her down. At the end of the incident, neither the woman or anyone else was harmed.
She was taken to a local hospital to get help, Weigelt said.
Madeline St. Amour — 861-9239
mstamour@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @madelinestamour
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