Man Accused of Pointing Gun, Threatening Woman at Red Light

Portsmouth police arrested a man for allegedly pointing a gun and threatening a woman stopped at a red light on Woodbury Avenue on April 3. The incident later led to the Portsmouth Middle School being briefly put in lockdown because the man was arrested nearby in his car at the city library.

Police said Darnell Austin, 39, with no fixed address, was charged with criminal threatening and reckless conduct, both Class B felonies.

The incident occurred around 10:30 a.m., when the woman called police to say she was threatened by a male associate while stopped at the traffic light. Austin stopped next to her and allegedly made threatening comments while pointing a gun at her, according to the Portsmouth Police Department.

With a detailed description of the man and his vehicle, two Portsmouth Police detectives in an unmarked car searched the area and found the vehicle at the Portsmouth Public Library and the man was inside his car.

Patrol units responded to the scene and took the man into custody.

Austin is being held on $10,000 cash bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges Friday in Portsmouth District Court.