Man shoots his 6-month-old baby multiple times at home near Phoenix, but child expected to survive

SURPRISE, Ariz. — A man shot his 6-month-old baby multiple times Friday at a home northwest of Phoenix after capturing the child and his mother, but the mother escaped with minor injuries and the child was expected to survive, authorities said.

They said the suspect’s status remained unknown after a fire broke out during a standoff with police.

Officers went to the home in the town of Surprise in response to a 911 call around 11:30 a.m. from a woman who said she and her baby had been held captive there since 3 a.m. by the child’s father, police said.

The woman managed to escape and borrowed a cell phone from a nearby construction crew, Sgt. Rick Hernandez said this during a press conference on Friday. He said she told the dispatcher the child was still in the house and could be in danger.

Officers heard gunfire from the house when they arrived, Hernandez said. They entered and found the baby with multiple gunshot wounds, but did not see the father. They retrieved the child and retreated.

“The young victim was transported to a nearby hospital in serious condition, but injuries are not believed to be life-threatening,” Surprise police said in a statement Friday evening. “The female victim was treated at the scene for minor injuries and transported to hospital to be with the child.”

SWAT officers surrounded the house in the afternoon and Hernandez said investigators believed the man was still there.

A fire broke out during a confrontation with police, police said in a statement on Friday evening. The suspect was probably still in the home, but his status was unknown.

Aerial and afternoon photos showed a thick plume of smoke billowing from the badly damaged home.

Hernandez said the man did not live in the home with the woman and baby.

“The condition of the suspect will be unknown until it is safe for investigators to enter the home,” police said in the statement Friday evening.