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Video shows Charlotte police shoot man holding pregnant woman hostage

CHARLOTTE, NC — Dramatic police body camera video shows what happened when Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers shot a man holding a pregnant woman hostage last year.

The Sept. 26 incident began around 10 p.m. when a 911 caller said a gunman had forced his way into a home on Holly Street.

[RELATED: CMPD officers shoot man accused of holding pregnant woman hostage]

When they got there, officers confronted Johnathan Autry who was holding the woman at gunpoint.

"He was holding a gun to her head," a witness said. "He kept saying 'I'll shoot her, I'll shoot her.' He wasn't talking to the lady, he was talking to the cops."

Police repeatedly told Autry to drop his gun and let the woman go, but he forced her to walk at gunpoint.

[IMAGES OF SCENE: CMPD confirms officer-involved shooting in west Charlotte]

The woman kept yelling that she was pregnant as Autry used her as a human shield.

"Hey, this is not going to end well! This is not going to run well! Drop the gun!" officers yelled at Autry.

The woman began to fight Autry as he tried to get her over a small wall and she and managed to break away from him. That's when officers said they determined he was an "imminent deadly threat" and began shooting at him, hitting Autry multiple times.

He falls to the ground in a wooded area, and police immediately begin tending to him.

"I'm bleeding. I'm dying!" Autry said "No you're not! We'll get you through this," an officer told him.

Autry was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

After his release from the hospital in October, Autry was charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree kidnapping, assault on a female, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

CMPD identified the three officers as Officer Shon Sheffield, Officer Joseph Bauer and Officer James Tindall.

Sheffield has been with CMPD since August 2012. Bauer has been with CMPD since October 2013. Tindall has been with CMPD since October 2015. All three are assigned to the Metro Division.

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