SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) — A man shot his 6-month-old baby multiple times Friday in a home northwest of Phoenix after taking the baby and his mother captive, but the mother escaped with minor injuries and was waiting. if the child survived, authorities said.
They said the suspect’s status remained unknown after a fire broke out during a standoff with police.
Officers went to the home in the town of Surprise in response to an emergency call around 11:30 a.m. from a woman who said she and her baby had been held captive there since 3 a.m. by the child’s father, police said.
The woman managed to escape and borrowed a cellphone from a nearby construction crew, Sgt. Rick Hernandez said during a news conference Friday. He said she told the dispatcher the child was still inside the home and could be in danger.
Officers heard gunshots coming from inside the home when they arrived, Hernandez said. They went inside and found the baby with multiple gunshot wounds, but did not see the father. They recovered the child and retreated.
“The child victim was airlifted to a nearby hospital in serious condition, but the injuries are not believed to be life-threatening,” Surprise police said in a statement Friday evening. “The female victim was treated at the scene for minor injuries and was transported to hospital to be with the child.”
SWAT officers surrounded the home in the afternoon and Hernandez said investigators believed the man was still there.
A fire broke out during the standoff with police, police said in their statement Friday night. The suspect is believed to still be in the home, but his status is unknown, they said.
Aerial videos and photos afternoon showed a thick cloud of smoke rising from the badly damaged house.
Hernandez said the man did not live in the house with his wife and baby.
“The suspect’s condition will be unknown until it is safe for investigators to enter the residence,” police said in a statement Friday evening.
