A jury convicted Antonio Hammond on Tuesday of kidnapping, possession of a firearm and several other offenses, the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office announced.<\/p>\n
The trial footage captures the early minutes of the May 30, 2023, standoff between police and Hammond, who was holed up inside a Harrisburg home. The mother, Michele Peters, began recording Hammond as he held her crying, autistic daughter<\/a>, while police officers outside ordered him to surrender.<\/p>\n Hammond repeatedly told the frantic mother that the police were “trying to kill me” and to “trust in God” as she begged him to let her daughter go.<\/p>\n FBI RESCUES MISSING TEEN FROM FLORIDA HOTEL AFTER MONTH-LONG HUNT FOR ACCUSED KIDNAPPER<\/a><\/p>\n Antonio Hammond was convicted Tuesday of kidnapping, stemming from a May 30, 2023, incident in which he took a 2-year-old girl hostage in her Pennsylvania home. (Dauphin County District Attorney\u2019s Office)<\/p>\n “I love people. I love kids,” Hammond is heard saying in the video.<\/p>\n “I don’t know what you did. I don’t even know you,” Peters pleaded. “Give me my baby, please! You’re scaring her.”<\/p>\n “You’ve got my pride and my joy and I don’t know you,” the distressed mother added.<\/p>\n When Hammond ordered her to keep filming him with her cell phone, she responded, “I am recording. I’m doing everything you asked me to do.”<\/p>\n As officers surrounded the residence, Hammond repeatedly shouted to the police outside, “I didn’t do anything.” Peters yelled back to the officers that Hammond had walked into her apartment and taken her child hostage. Meanwhile, officers continued ordering Hammond to step outside with his hands up.<\/p>\n At one point in the footage, the phone appears to drop to the floor, leaving the audio muffled.<\/p>\n KIDNAPPING SURVIVOR, ONCE DISMISSED AS A LIAR, NOW RETRAINS POLICE TO HELP VICTIMS<\/a><\/p>\n Antonio Hammond was filmed taking a 2-year-old child hostage in a Pennsylvania apartment. (Dauphin County District Attorney\u2019s Office)<\/p>\n Prior to the recording, Hammond \u2014 who absconded from parole months earlier \u2014 had encountered law enforcement, PennLive Patriot-News reported. On the day of the standoff, officers spotted him wearing a mask on a hot day while walking with another individual.<\/p>\n Prosecutors said officers noticed Hammond had a firearm and attempted to stop him, prompting him to flee. During the ensuing foot chase, Hammond pointed a pistol at<\/a> the pursuing officers and pulled the trigger, authorities said.<\/p>\n “While there were rounds in the magazine, there was not a round in the chamber,” the DA’s office stated in a news release. “The pistol only made a ‘click’ sound when Hammond pulled the trigger. Probation Officers Hoover and Robbins were five to eight feet away from Hammond when this occurred.”<\/p>\n Hammond then broke into the apartment where Peters and her three young children lived<\/a>. Startled by his sudden intrusion, Peters was ordered by Hammond to record him, as he believed police would not shoot him if he was on camera. Meanwhile, he continued to hold the 2-year-old child and the pistol while shouting at police.<\/p>\n WOMAN LEAPS FROM BALCONY TO ESCAPE KIDNAPPING AFTER HORRIFIC CROSS-COUNTRY ORDEAL: OFFICIALS<\/a><\/p>\n The trial footage captures the early minutes of the May 30, 2023, standoff between police and Hammond, who was holed up inside a Harrisburg home. (Paul Taggart\/Bloomberg via Getty Images, File)<\/p>\n Peters was eventually able to escape the apartment with her infant daughter. However, Hammond kept the toddler hostage as negotiations with police deteriorated.<\/p>\n After nearly six hours, a Crisis Response Team (CRT) entered the home through a rear door.<\/p>\n![\"Antonio](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/antonio-hammond-hostage-001.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Antonio](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hammond-with-child-fox-news-001.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/harrisburg-pennsylvania-fox-news-001.jpeg\")
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