Pennsylvania authorities have released disturbing video footage from the trial of a man who took a 2-year-old girl hostage in her own home, while her mother begged for her release during an hours-long standoff with police. The footage shows the early minutes of the May 30, 2023, standoff between police and the suspect, who was holed up inside a Harrisburg home. The mother, Michele Peters, began recording the suspect as he held her crying, autistic daughter, while police officers outside ordered him to surrender.
The suspect 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. In the video, the suspect claims, "I love people. I love kids," as he continues to hold the child hostage. The mother pleads with him, "I don't know what you did. I don't even know you. Give me my baby, please! You're scaring her."
The mother, in a state of distress, adds, "You've got my pride and my joy and I don't know you." The suspect orders her to keep filming him with her cell phone, and she responds, "I am recording. I'm doing everything you asked me to do." As officers surround the residence, the suspect repeatedly shouts to the police outside, "I didn't do anything."
The mother yells back to the officers that the suspect had walked into her apartment and taken her child hostage. Meanwhile, officers continue ordering the suspect to step outside with his hands up. At one point in the footage, the phone appears to drop to the floor, leaving the audio muffled.
The suspect had a history with law enforcement, having absconded from parole months earlier. On the day of the standoff, officers spotted him wearing a mask on a hot day while walking with another individual. Prosecutors say officers noticed the suspect had a firearm and attempted to stop him, prompting him to flee.
During the ensuing foot chase, the suspect pointed a pistol at the pursuing officers and pulled the trigger, but the pistol only made a "click" sound. The suspect then broke into the apartment where Peters and her three young children lived, taking the 2-year-old child hostage.
The mother was eventually able to escape the apartment with her infant daughter, but the suspect kept the toddler hostage as negotiations with police deteriorated. After nearly six hours, a Crisis Response Team entered the home through a rear door and found the suspect holding the toddler and a semi-automatic pistol.
The suspect pointed the handgun at the entry team and then put the muzzle against the toddler's face. A Crisis Response Team member successfully forced the handgun down and shot the suspect in the face. Other officers then rushed the toddler to safety, and medics treated the suspect at the scene, saving his life.
