Police: Wash. man pointed gun at woman for smoking while pregnant

(CBS/AP) BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A Washington state man has been arrested on allegations that he pointed a handgun at a pregnant woman because she was smoking a cigarette.

Bellingham police spokesman Mark Young says 24-year-old Justin Dain Palmer stopped his pickup truck Wednesday to shout at a smoker on a sidewalk, "Who the heck smokes when they're pregnant?" The woman replied, "I do."

Young says that, after more words were exchanged, the man pointed a handgun at the woman. The Bellingham Herald reports the man was still sitting in the truck, about 10 feet from her, and that he then drove off.

The woman called 911.

Police stopped Palmer a short time later. Young says Palmer acknowledged confronting the woman but denied pulling a gun. Police say they found two semiautomatic .45-caliber handguns in his pickup's center console.

Young says Palmer was arrested for investigation of pointing a gun.