Breaking update:
A St. Louis man accused of fatally shooting his 8-month-old son has been arrested, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief Sam Dotson said Wednesday on his Twitter account. Diata R. Crockett, 34, turned himself in, Dotson said.
Original story:
(CNN) — Authorities in the St. Louis area searched Wednesday for a man accused of fatally shooting his 8-month-old son during an argument with his wife.
Diata R. Crockett, 34, has been charged with first-degree murder, first-degree domestic assault and armed criminal action, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said. He is considered armed and dangerous.
The shooting occurred Tuesday night in north St. Louis after Crockett forced his wife and three of their six children into a rental car, Police Chief Sam Dotson said. When the car slowed at one point, the wife jumped out, Dotson said.
Diata Crockett
“The suspect … fires one shot at her while she’s exiting the vehicle with the 8-month-old in her arms,” the chief explained. “The shot strikes the 8-month-old and it’s a fatal wound.”
The wife ran with the child, Reign Crockett, until a passing motorist stopped, picked them up and began to drive them to a hospital.
Diata Crockett tried to force the vehicle off the road, police dispatchers were told. When his wife arrived at the hospital, Reign was pronounced dead.
Police searched for Crockett and the two other children, who were last seen inside his vehicle. Those children were found safe Tuesday night at a relative’s house, police said in a statement posted on Facebook. CNN affiliate KMOV said they were 2 and 3 years old.
The car driven by Crockett was later found at an apartment complex in the town of Ferguson, KMOV reported.
“In interviews with the mother she’s talked about suicidal and homicidal threats the suspect has made towards her and towards their family,” Dotson said, according to KMOV. “This is a very serious situation.”
Dotson said Crockett possibly is wanted on a parole violation and was known to police in St. Louis and the region before Tuesday.
He was last seen wearing a lime green shirt and green pants. CrimeStoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
WMOV said Crockett’s mother appealed for her son to surrender.
“You need to turn yourself in,” said Casetta Crockett. “Talk to your attorney and come in ASAP. You have to set the record straight. We know you love your kids and you would never hurt them, so we know this was a horrible accident. You have to come in, if nothing else, you have to come in for your other kids.”