Man holds woman and two children at gunpoint as he threatens to shoot police

ATLANTA — A man is in jail after holding a woman and two children hostage after Atlanta police officers were called to investigate a vehicle break-in Tuesday.

Body camera video obtained by Channel 2 Action News, we can hear the moment a man threatens to shoot police officers through a door. Police said at the same time he was holding a woman and her two children at gunpoint inside.

This man, Deandre Watson, only fired one shot.

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Channel 2’s Elizabeth Rawlins was at the Fulton County Jail Friday, where she learned it all started with a car burglary, according to police.

A neighbor called APD to say Watson had stolen items from his car.

“Upon arrival at the scene, a police officer was flagged down by the caller, who advised that a man known to him had entered his unlocked vehicle and stolen his identification card. He also said he saw the known man with a gun and that the man ran into an apartment. unit,” APD said in a statement.

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But when the neighbor told police which apartment Watson ended up in on Tazor Street, things changed. When an officer tried to talk to Watson, he “threatened to shoot through the door,” APD said.

“Police, I’m going to shoot from the (expletive) door,” Watson can be heard saying on the body camera video.

Investigators wore body cameras. Footage of the incident shows an investigator called for backup when he realized violence was taking place inside the apartment.

When other Atlanta officers arrived, they were able to safely enter the apartment, where they found a woman and two children being held at gunpoint by Watson.

Once the situation calmed down, Watson was taken into custody. He was charged with child cruelty, kidnapping, damage to property and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon.

Channel 2 Action News checked Watson’s criminal history, finding a few minor charges but nothing serious.

Rawlins went to the Tazor Street apartment complex where the incident happened, but neighbors wouldn’t talk.

The relationship between Watson and the victims is still unclear, police said. Watson remains in custody at the Fulton County Jail.

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