Atlanta TV news crew 'held hostage by homeless man'
December 13, 2023Atlanta TV news crew are ‘held hostage by homeless man in sheriff’s office parking lot – with cops taking NINETY MINUTES to answer 911 call’
- Brandon Logan is accused of threatening to shoot two journalists Monday
- The journalists were approached by the suspect at the parking lot at the Clayton County Sheriff’s office in Jonesboro
- The suspect has been charged with assault, battery and false imprisonment.
A TV news crew in Atlanta was held hostage by a drunk homeless man who claimed he was armed with a gun, police have revealed.
Brandon Logan is accused of threatening to shoot Atlanta News First journalists Asia Wilson and Lauren Swaim if they called police and demanding they order him food.
The journalists were inside their news van on Monday night, preparing to go live from the parking lot at the Clayton County Sheriff’s office in Jonesboro, when they were approached by the suspect.
Wilson managed to text her newsroom and alert them of the situation. Their colleagues tried contacting the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office but called 911 after not getting help, according to Atlanta News First.
Police arrived at the scene about an hour and a half after the journalists were first approached by Logan, who never had a gun, according to officials.
Brandon Logan is accused of threatening to shoot two Atlanta journalists on Monday
Police arrived at the scene about an hour and a half after the journalists were first approached
Atlanta News First journalists Asia Wilson and Lauren Swaim waited over an hour for police
ANF anchor Allen Devlin said the texts sent by the journalists while they were kept hostage were ‘terrifying, bone-chilling messages.’
‘Things like, “We need help,” “He’s gonna shoot,”‘ Devlin said.
After failing to get help from the sheriff’s office, three of the station employees, including Schrader headed to the scene. They flagged down a police car during the 20-minute drive to the sheriff’s office from the newsroom.
That was when the officer then found the two journalists – still with the suspect.
Logan, who appeared in court on Tuesday, has been charged with assault, battery, public drunkenness and false imprisonment.
Wilson managed to text her newsroom and alert them of the situation
Wilson and photojournalist Lauren Swaim were approached by the suspect on Monday night
‘The victims attempted to leave the property but due to Brandon Logan’s threats, and bodily movements acting as if he had a weapon, the victims felt as if they were being held hostage,’ said judge Latrevia Kates-Johnson, as reported by WSB-TV.
The homeless man allegedly also shoved one of the journalists and tried to hit the other.
‘It was a strange situation,’ said Erik Schrader, the general manager of the CBS affiliate station.
Schrader told AJC: ‘We really want answers to why it took so long to get them extricated. I’m hopeful in the coming days we can find out what led to that.’
Source: Read Full Article