A baby boy died from injuries he suffered when Mississippi police gunned down his murder suspect father, authorities said Tuesday.
The 3-month-old child was traveling with his father, Eric Derell Smith, 30, who had been wanted in connection with a double-homicide investigation in Louisiana, officials said.
Smith was fatally shot during an attempted arrest in Mississippi, and despite "the efforts of medical staff, the child passed away as a result of the injuries sustained," Biloxi police Maj. Christopher De Back said in a statement.
The child was shot once, according to a spokeswoman for Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer. The coroner's representative said she did not know if Smith was armed when he was killed, or who fired the shot that fatally struck his child.
The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office said the deadly chain of events started Monday in Baker, Louisiana, when, it alleged, Smith shot his ex-girlfriend, Christin Parker, 32, and Brandon Parker, 26, her nephew, at about 11:30 a.m. CT.
Smith fled east in a blue Nissan Altima with the child, who had been living with Parker, his mother, a sheriff's spokeswoman said.
Biloxi police learned that Smith had crossed into Mississippi on Interstate 10, and, at mile marker 40, "the suspect drove into the grass median and became stuck" at about 3 p.m., according to De Back's statement.
"As the suspect exited the vehicle, shots were fired. Medical attention was given to the suspect but he died as a result of injuries sustained," De Back said. "The juvenile did receive injuries and was taken to a local medical facility for treatment."
