My question involves restraining orders in the State of: North Carolina
Last night, my husband threatened to kill me if I did not provide him with additional funds for his college reunion trip. He picked up the knife he was using to slice tomatoes and onions, walked over to me, put the knife in my face, and said "I will kill you if you f-up this trip for me". He also stated that if I ever took the kids to visit my parents again, he would shoot me and my parents. He then left for about an hour and took keys to both vehicles so I was unable to leave. I called a domestic abuse hotline, who advised me to phone the police and leave the house with my 2 children. As I knew he was leaving first thing this morning for his trip, I chose to just go to bed, and hope that things had settled down by this morning.
He contacted me by text today to ask if I was home from work, to which I replied yes. He called me later and told me he was extending his trip by a day, so he could stop by an old friend's house and pick up a gun so he could take care of a few problems.
This is not the first time he has threatened such a thing - he frequently tells me that he wishes we lived in a country where it is legal to beat and/or kill one's wife. He has been physical in the past, but I have never really been frightened. I am now because his behavior has been so erratic, and these threats felt more malicious to me.
While I realize it may seem straight forward and the answer should be - go file that restraining order, there are some complicating things that worry me. He is a former police officer, and whenever I have told him that I will call the police, he tells me that they won't believe me because he is a former cop, and because I suffer from moderate depression and take antidepressants. I tried to leave him 2.5 years ago, and he pulled random pages from my journal, took them to the police, and told them he believed I was suicidal. The police took me to a local hospital for an evaluation, where I was assessed and immediately released. However, when I arrived back at home, he had changed the locks and would not allow me to see our children for over a week, despite their cries for me. He only let me see them once I agreed to take him back.
1) In your opinion, do I have enough evidence to get a restraining order? I did not file a police report - I did call the domestic abuse hotline last night, and he is 700 miles away today, so I don't feel an immediate threat today but am concerned that he will come back home with a gun.
2) I understand that if granted, the restraining order will likely apply only to me, as he has not threatened the children. However, I am concerned he will take them, as he did last time, and not allow me to see them. Do I have any legal grounds for trying to include the children in the protective order, as I understand withholding children from one parent can be considered an emotional form of abuse? I am really concerned about their emotional welfare if he tries to keep them from me again. I do not intend to keep the children from seeing him, unless he does physically harm or threaten them.

