Heartbreaking Tragedy: Father Fatally Shoots 3-Year-Old Son After Chilling Warning to Mother

A tragic incident unfolded in Las Vegas when an altercation between parents led to the death of their 3-year-old son. According to Nevada police, the child’s father fatally shot him in the head, allegedly telling the boy’s mother, “I’m blowing the child’s brains out.” Disturbing 911 call recordings from that night reveal the father also attempted to harm the mother and fired shots at her friend’s car.

In one of the 911 calls, Raneka Pate, the mother of the deceased toddler, Kentre Baker, is heard describing the father’s unstable state. “He’s not in his right mind,” she told the dispatcher, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

At approximately 1:18 a.m. on February 3, Pate reported to the police that Kentre’s father, Quinton Baker, was attempting to take their son. Baker was ultimately killed by police after he fired at the child.

Pate claimed that after an argument at their apartment on the 8400 block of South Maryland Parkway, Baker assaulted one of her friends and then tried to harm her. According to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police and the 911 recordings, Baker attempted to put Kentre in his vehicle during the confrontation.

When Pate tried to remove Kentre from the vehicle, Baker fired shots at her and the car of her friend, as reported by the Review-Journal. Law enforcement officials informed local NBC affiliate KSNV that the dispute between the parents had intensified throughout the night, leading to the tragic outcome.

“A couple were out here screaming and arguing with each other,” a witness reported seeing in a 911 call placed around 1:29 a.m., per the Review-Journal.

“Eventually, a man came out with a gun and a kid,” the witness said. “He threw the kid in a blue Ford … but before he peeled out of here, he took a shot at the white BMW with a gun.”

Police say Baker returned to the apartment with Kentre and then started fighting with Pate again before walking outside and confronting police while holding the boy.

“He’s threatening to kill me and my son,” Pate said in a second 911 call. “He literally beat me …. He’s crazy. He’s in the house with him.”

Body camera footage shows Baker cradling and holding Kentre in his arms while pointing a gun at him, according to police. “The child was struck in the head by a close contact gunshot wound when the suspect discharged his weapon,” said Clark County Assistant Sheriff Bryan Peterson at a Feb. 5 press conference.

Peterson told reporters that during their investigation, Pate alleged to police that Baker told her, “If you don’t tell them to call this s— off, and if they try to come up these stairs I’m blowing the child’s brains out and I’m blowing mine out. You won’t have neither one of us.”

Peterson added, “That child was being held hostage, and the suspect’s intent was clearly stated by him to the mother several times. He was going to kill that child and then kill himself.”

Officers who arrived on scene ended up shooting Baker to death after he opened fire on Kentre. While the boy was shot once in the leg by police, Peterson said the coroner reported his death as being caused by a shot fired by Baker.

“In this situation, officers have milliseconds to make a decision,” Peterson told reporters. “Their ultimate goal is to save that baby’s life. That suspect chose those actions and followed through with what his intent was. He killed his son.”

Pate has blamed the shooting on police and retained a Las Vegas lawyer, Ofelia Markarian, who plans to hold a press conference at a later date, according to the Review-Journal. “I told police officers that the person was very agitated, and that if they could do anything to calm or deescalate the situation, without any lethal force because he did have my son in his possession,” Pate told KSNV.

The officers involved have been placed on administrative leave pending a review of what happened, according to police officials.

The review is expected to last several months.