A St. Louis man accused of fatally shooting his 8-month-old son during an argument with his wife has been arrested, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief Sam Dotson said Wednesday on his Twitter account.
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. Dotson said Crockett turned himself in through his attorney.
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.
“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.
Scott Rosenblum, Crockett’s lawyer, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “He’s devastated over the loss of his son. Obviously, there’s much more to the story.”
Court records show Crockett had been sentenced in 2006 to a year in prison on burglary and assault charges. In 2015, he was sentenced to five years in prison on a drug charge, unlawful use of a weapon, resisting arrest and forgery.
WMOV said Crockett’s mother had 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.”