Allegheny County Sheriffs’ deputies charged a woman seeking a protection-from-abuse order at Pittsburgh Municipal Court early Tuesday after they discovered a warrant for her arrest and a loaded pistol in her purse, authorities said.

Tiffany Towns, 36, of the city’s North Side, walked into the court building on First Avenue about 2:30 a.m. to obtain a PFA, Chief Deputy Kevin Kraus said in a statement announcing the arrest.

Kraus said in the statement deputies there discovered an active warrant for Towns related to a misdemeanor retail theft charge filed by Pittsburgh police in December. The charge was connected to an alleged incident on Nov. 21, court records show.

According to the criminal complaint against Towns, deputies handcuffed the woman and escorted her to a holding area to be searched. As a deputy patted her down, Towns said she had a weapon in her purse, the complaint said.

Towns had a license to carry firearms that is valid through 2023, according to the complaint.

Deputies asked the guard on duty if Towns was searched before she entered the court building, where weapons are prohibited. The guard told deputies he ran Towns’ purse through the X-ray scanner and did not see the gun in her purse, according to the complaint.

A deputy, however, “was able to view the screen on the magnetometer and saw the gun in the purse,” according to the complaint.

Towns was arrested on the outstanding warrant and charged with a new count of possession of a weapon in a court facility, a third-degree misdemeanor. She was arraigned later Tuesday morning and released on her own recognizance.

Kraus did not respond to a request for further comment.

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