A Missouri man shot and killed his 8-month-old son during an argument with his wife, then fled with two of his other sons in a rental car, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Sam Dotson said Tuesday.
Those boys later were found unharmed at a relative’s house, police said.
Diata R. Crockett, 34, went missing in a rented black Hyundai Sonata and is considered armed and dangerous. The car was later recovered.
Dotson said the incident started as an argument in which Crockett’s wife told police she felt forced to get into the car with three of their six children.
At one point, the wife tried to get out of the car while holding the baby, Reign Crockett, and the father fired one shot toward her, Dotson said.
The wife ran with Reign until a passing motorist stopped, picked them up and began to drive them to a hospital.
Diata Crockett was following them and trying to force them off the road, police dispatchers were told. When they got to the hospital, he was gone and Reign was pronounced dead.
“I really have to question the humanity of this individual,” Dotson told reporters.
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.
