A 10-month-old girl is recovering in Fresno, California, after being shot in the head by a man who made unwanted sexual advances toward her mother.
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said Deziree Menagh, 18, brought her young daughter, Fayth Percy, to a social gathering Saturday night where Marcos Echartea, 23, made advances toward her.
Echartea grabbed her hand, tried to pull Menagh into him, and told her to sit on his lap, police said. The two barely knew each other, having met for the first time a week earlier.
Uncomfortable with Echartea’s advances, Menagh left the party in a car with Fayth and a friend.
The friend who was driving eventually turned around and headed back toward the gathering. As they went to park the car, Menagh and the driver noticed Echartea headed toward them. When he got to the car, Echartea fired three rounds into the driver’s window, one hitting Fayth in the head.
Fayth was brought to the hospital, Dyer said, where doctors had to remove bullet fragments from her head. According to the police’s last update, Fayth is in critical but stable condition.
“We have every reason to believe that Marcos Echartea knew baby Fayth was in that vehicle when he fired three rounds into the vehicle,” Dyer said.
Fresno Police said they apprehended Echartea, who will be charged with three counts of attempted murder. They also said he is wanted for another shooting that occurred May 27. Nobody was injured in the May shooting, in which Echartea allegedly shot into the home of the boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend, but Dyer said a bullet fired into the home that night just missed a young child.
Echartea faces multiple felony charges for the May shooting, police said.
