St. Louis police say the two young brothers of an 8-month-old boy shot to death by a suspect identified as his father have been found safe.
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Dotson said they had driven a short way when the woman tried to get out of the auto with the baby in her arms as the vehicle slowed near an Interstate 270 exit ramp.
Police said the incident began as a domestic dispute at the couple’s St. Louis County home, also in Bellefontaine Neighbors, where Crockett forced his wife and three of their six children into the auto at gunpoint.
St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Sam Dotson said that Crockett had made suicidal and homicidal threats against himself and his family prior to the shooting.
Crockett then forced his wife into a rented Hyundai Sonata at gunpoint, with their two older sons, Blaze, 3, and 2-year-old Ryker.
Dotson said Crockett possibly is wanted on a parole violation and was known to police in St. Louis and the region before Tuesday. They said he forced the woman and three of their six children into the vehicle at gunpoint. Police Chief Sam Dotson warned at the time that Crockett, who has a lengthy criminal record, had threatened suicide and violence against his family before and was considered armed and unsafe.
Three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, domestic assault in the second degree and being a felon in possession of a fire arm.
This story will be updated when more information becomes available. They are now in police custody awaiting return to the care of a family member. We know you love your kids and you would never hurt them, so we know this was a frightful accident. The mother flagged down another driver, who took her and the baby to a hospital, Dotson said.
Diata Crockett’s mother, Casetta Crockett, speaking to KMOV-TV, said her son must turn himself in for the sake of his surviving children and to “set the record straight”.
Dotson said Crockett has threatened suicide and violence against his family in the past.
Diata Crockett was following them and trying to force them off the road, police dispatchers were told. The couple was engaged in an argument that started at their home. “He’s trying to cause an accident”. 34-year-old Diata R. Crockett, is still at large, but his vehicle was recovered in the 2900 block of Caddiefield in Ferguson.
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Officers found a loaded 9mm pistol in his waistband when he was arrested, and Crockett admitted he was a fugitive and had a probation warrant out for his arrest, according to the documents.
