High Point man arrested after reaching for gun, carrying hatchet

A High Point police response to a domestic disturbance turned volatile fast when officers say Travis Watson reached for a handgun while also carrying a hatchet, forcing officers to use physical force to detain him near East Green Drive and Smith Street.

Police said the call came in around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 29, 2026, after multiple 911 callers reported two people arguing in the area. One caller warned that a man with a gun and a hatchet was walking toward a residential neighborhood, a detail that raised the stakes before officers arrived.

When officers made contact with Watson, a 31-year-old High Point man, they said he ignored repeated commands to place his hands behind his back and reached toward a handgun in his pocket. The confrontation escalated immediately, and officers used force to take him into custody. One officer suffered minor injuries and was treated. Watson was taken to the hospital for evaluation and later released.

Watson faces charges including felony carrying a concealed gun, assault on a government official, resist, delay or obstruct a public officer, and possession of an open container. He was being held at the Guilford County Jail. Under North Carolina law, assault with a firearm or other deadly weapon on a governmental officer or employee is covered by G.S. 14-34.2, and the state’s concealed-weapons law, G.S. 14-269, prohibits willfully carrying certain concealed deadly weapons.

The incident landed in a city where police have been tracking a mixed crime picture. In High Point police’s 2025 annual report, overall crime fell 9% last year, but violent crime rose 6% to 441 reports, up from 417 in 2024. The department said that increase was driven largely by aggravated assaults. Police also said they seized more than 440 firearms in 2025.

For Guilford County, the episode is a reminder of how quickly a routine call can turn into a life-threatening confrontation. A handgun, a hatchet and a residential street put officers, and anyone nearby, one bad move away from greater harm.