{"id":227456,"date":"2026-06-25T02:41:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T02:41:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/227456\/"},"modified":"2026-06-25T02:41:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T02:41:07","slug":"pennsylvania-mothers-video-captures-armed-intruder-holding-her-toddler-as-she-begs-for-childs-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/227456\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania mother\u2019s video captures armed intruder holding her toddler as she begs for child\u2019s release"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pennsylvania<\/a> authorities have released harrowing video footage shown at the trial of an armed man who took a 2-year-old girl hostage in her own home, while her mother begged and pleaded for her release during an hours-long standoff with police.<\/p>\n

A jury convicted Antonio Hammond on Tuesday of kidnapping, possession of a firearm and several other offenses, the Dauphin County District Attorney\u2019s 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 \u201ctrying to kill me\u201d and to \u201ctrust in God\u201d 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

\u201cI love people. I love kids,\u201d Hammond is heard saying in the video.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know what you did. I don\u2019t even know you,\u201d Peters pleaded. \u201cGive me my baby, please! You\u2019re scaring her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got my pride and my joy and I don\u2019t know you,\u201d the distressed mother added.<\/p>\n

When Hammond ordered her to keep filming him with her cell phone, she responded, \u201cI am recording. I\u2019m doing everything you asked me to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

As officers surrounded the residence, Hammond repeatedly shouted to the police outside, \u201cI didn\u2019t do anything.\u201d 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

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

\u201cWhile there were rounds in the magazine, there was not a round in the chamber,\u201d the DA\u2019s office stated in a news release. \u201cThe pistol only made a \u2018click\u2019 sound when Hammond pulled the trigger. Probation Officers Hoover and Robbins were five to eight feet away from Hammond when this occurred.\u201d<\/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

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

\u201cHammond had the toddler in his arms while holding the semi-automatic pistol. Hammond pointed the handgun at the entry team and then put the muzzle against the toddler\u2019s face,\u201d the DA\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n

A CRT member successfully forced the handgun down and shot Hammond in the face<\/a>. Other officers then rushed the toddler to safety. Medics treated Hammond at the scene, saving his life, authorities said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania authorities have released harrowing video footage shown at the trial of an armed man who took a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":227457,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-227456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227456\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}