Woman Accused of Pulling Firearm on Store Employee Who Said Her Kid Couldn’t Play With a Toy

A woman in Indiana is facing arrest after allegedly pulling a gun on the employees of a children’s store when they told her that her child could not play with one of the toys.

Tamya Staten was charged on September 28 in Marion County court with felony intimidation and pointing a firearm after an incident that took place back in July, according to court records viewed by the National Enquirer. If convicted on both counts, Staten, 21, could face up to 8.5 years in prison.

According to Fox59, Staten went into the Once Upon a Child store with her toddler to sell clothing. While they were doing the transaction, the employee says they saw Staten’s child playing with a motorized car toy and informed her that it was not allowed. Staten acknowledged the employee but did not stop the child.

When the employee later reminded her that playing with the toys is against the store policy, they say Staten pulled a black handgun out of her purse and tucked it into her leggings. She then allegedly started poking an employee in the face with her finger while making threats about shooting.

“We can fight about it. We can get down,” she reportedly said. “I can use this [gun].”

Staten then reportedly continued to get worked up over being asked to stop her child from using the toy and eventually pointed the gun at employees. Fox59 reports that she even began encouraging her child to continue to use the motorized toy and even showed them how to do it while still holding her gun.

She eventually left the store and police were later able to identify her based on the vehicle she was seen on video getting into as well as the ID she used to try and sell clothing to Once Upon a Child.

On Tuesday, September 28, she was officially charged with intimidation with a deadly weapon, a level 5 felony, and pointing a firearm at another person, a level 6 felony.