Man holds woman, 2 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 on Tuesday.

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

That man, Deandre Watson, fired just one shot.

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Channel 2′s Elizabeth Rawlins was at the Fulton County Jail on Friday, where she learned it all started with a car break-in, according to police.

A neighbor called APD saying Watson had stolen some items out of his car.

“Upon arriving on the scene, an officer was flagged down by the caller, who advised a male he knows went inside his unlocked vehicle and stole his I. D. He also stated he saw the known male with a gun and that the male ran into an apartment unit,” APD said in a statement.

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But when the neighbor told police which apartment unit Watson ran into on Tazor Street, things took a turn. When an officer tried to speak to Watson, he “threatened to shoot through the door,” APD said.

“Police, I’ll shoot from the [expletive] door,” you can hear Watson say on body camera video.

Investigators were wearing body cameras. Footage from the incident shows that an investigator called for backup when he realized violence was unfolding inside the apartment.

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

Once the situation was deescalated, Watson was taken into custody. He was charged with cruelty to children, kidnaping, damaging property and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

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

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

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

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