A 74-year-old Oakland woman was arrested Saturday, July 25, after deploying bear spray during a parking lot argument at a grocery store on the 3600 block of Mt. Diablo Boulevard in Lafayette, exposing eight people to the chemical agent.

Lafayette police said they were dispatched at approximately 10:40 a.m. to a report of an argument at the store, which KRON4 identified as the Trader Joe's. The department determined that an argument between two people escalated in the parking lot, with one person pointing bear spray out of her driver-side window and spraying the other person. She then sprayed it a second time as she drove away.

Eight people were exposed.

Contra Costa County Fire Protection District responded and treated victims on scene. One person was transported to a hospital. The condition of that person has not been released.

Witnesses provided dispatch with the suspect vehicle's license plate number and direction of travel. Orinda police officers located the vehicle on westbound Highway 24 and detained the driver, connecting three Lamorinda-area agencies in a single incident response.

The suspect was booked at the Martinez Detention Facility on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful use of tear gas, according to the Lafayette Police Department. Under California law, unlawful use of tear gas outside self-defense can be charged as a misdemeanor or felony.

Lafayette police have not released additional details about what prompted the argument or whether the seven other people exposed were bystanders. No arraignment date has been announced.

Residents with information about the incident can contact Lafayette police at 925-284-5010. To report emergencies, call 911.