Distraught Woman Climbs On Balcony In California Senate

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A security scare at the state Capitol triggered a standoff inside Senate chambers on Thursday.

Investigators released photos of a woman on a ledge inside the Senate, leaving them to figure out just how she got up there.

Sacramento firefighters with ropes and ladders were called in to help Capitol police with an unusual standoff.

"We got a call of a possible jumper in the Senate gallery," said California Highway Patrol Capt. Danny Lamn.

The CHP says the suspect climbed over the railing of the upstairs balcony and sat on the upper ledge with her feet dangling over the dais, threatening to jump. The area around the Senate chambers was cordoned off for more than two hours while crisis negotiators tried to talk her down.

"Negotiators were very conversational with her and she wasn't making a lot of sense," Lamn said.

There were no public meetings in the chambers, but generally, the upper gallery is open to the public. Officers say it's the first time they can remember anything like this ever happening.