A Missouri state senator who has been an advocate for gun control and an outspoken critic of how police and state officials have handled protests in the police shooting death of Michael Brown says a man pointed a gun at her during an attempted robbery late Friday night.
Jamilah Nasheed sent a tweet early Saturday morning about the incident.
Someone just put a gun to my head while I was getting out of my car in front of my house!
— Jamilah Nasheed (@SenatorNasheed) November 22, 2014
Nasheed, 41, shared some of the details in an interview with CNN.
“I had my purse in my hand, with a bag and a soda for my little kid. He got out of a car and said to give him my keys. I told him I wasn’t giving him anything. He said if you don’t give me your keys, I’ll kill you. I said to do whatever you have to do. He backed up, walked away, and got back in his car,” she told CNN, according to KMOV.
“I’m not exempt. We’re living in a community where you have extreme poverty, and individuals are just extremely hopeless,” continued Nasheed. “They don’t care about life and don’t care about taking the life of others. I just don’t believe that he knew who I was.”
St. Louis metropolitan police provided The Daily Caller with a description of the incident.
According to their report, Nasheed described the suspect as a black male between 20 and 25 years old. He was wearing a hooded sweatshirt.
“The victim stated she had parked her vehicle at the above location and was exiting the vehicle when she noticed a vehicle stop in the street. The suspect got out of the vehicle and approached, pointing a gun at the victim and demanded the keys to her vehicle. The victim refused to hand over her keys to the suspect. The suspect returned to the vehicle he had gotten out of and fled the scene. No injuries were reported. The investigation is ongoing.”
During her career in the state legislature, Nasheed has pushed numerous gun control measures. According to VoteSmart.org, Nasheed has voted against a bill that would have allowed state employees to keep firearms in their vehicles. She also voted against a bill that would have prohibited the enforcement of federal firearms regulations. She has also been a high-profile presence in the Ferguson protests.
She started a petition to replace St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCullough, who is investigating the case, with a special prosecutor. Nasheed also slammed Gov. Nixon after he recently declared a state of emergency.
Nasheed was arrested last month during a protest. Police said she was visibly intoxicated. Though Nasheed has been a vocal supporter of restrictions on gun ownership, the politician was carrying a fully-loaded 9 mm handgun at the time of the arrest.
