Two teenagers suspected of shooting to death a baby in a stroller and wounding his mother in the US state of Georgia have been arrested. Their motives are under investigation, while authorities are searching for the murder weapon.
Brunswick Police Chief Tobe Green revealed Friday that
17-year-old Demarquis Elkins will be charged as an adult with
first-degree murder, while his unnamed 14-year-old accomplice, who
is also charged with murder, will face a juvenile court. No motive
has been declared for the grisly crime.
Georgia woman Sherry West was walking near her home Thursday
morning with Antonio, her baby, when she was approached and held at
gunpoint by a teenager demanding money from her. Following a short
exchange, he replied to her entreaties by saying, “do you want
me to kill your baby?” then proceeded to do so before running
off with his accomplice.
“I put my arms over my baby and [the older boy] shoves me, and
then he shot my baby right in the head,” West told local
WAWS-TV. The boy then shot West in the leg and ran off with his
accomplice into a residential neighborhood.
There were four shots fired in total, with West’s ear being grazed
and her knee injured. But, she said, she didn’t notice the pain and
tried to shield her baby. After the child was shot in the head, she
tried to perform CPR, but to no avail.
The baby's father is overcome with grief and at not having been
present to stop the murder. “Why my little one?” asked Louis
Santiago in an interview with WAWS. “You know, you should have
just taken the pocketbook and go,” he said.
Brunswick residents were outraged by the crime, and pooling their
efforts to help the police catch the criminals by submitting more
than 30 leads as of Friday morning. Police corroboratied stories
and sifted through school attendance records, finally arresting the
two suspects.
The exact details of the arrest have not yet been made
clear.