Arizona police officers burst into a house Friday to rescue a 6-month-old who had been shot multiple times after the child’s father took the infant and its mother hostage, according to a police statement.
Surprise Police Department officers responded to the home at 11:30 a.m. Friday after receiving a 911 call about a woman and child who had been taken captive around 3 a.m. The woman eventually managed to flee and ran to a nearby group of construction workers, who called the cops. The child was still inside.
When police arrived at the home, they heard “multiple rounds of gunfire,” and one of the officers fired a round in response, according to the statement. Officers “quickly worked to force entry and rescue the infant, who sustained multiple gunshot wounds.”
The infant was airlifted to a nearby hospital in serious condition, but its injuries were believed to be non-life threatening, according to police. The infant’s mother was treated for minor injuries at the scene and taken to the hospital to be with her child.
Arizona police officers from Surprise, Goodyear and Phoenix attempted to negotiate a “peaceful resolution” to the standoff, according to the statement from the Surprise Police Department. But shortly after 3 p.m., a fire started inside the house while the suspect was still inside.
“Fire crews could not tend to the fire due to the possible threat and sounds of gunfire coming from inside the house,” Surprise police said. The condition of the suspect was not immediately known, and a police department spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for more information about his status.
The fire’s cause is under investigation.