Man rejected by mom twice in party shoots her 10-month-old baby in the head leaving child in critical condition
A 10-month-old baby girl is in critical condition in a hospital after a man reportedly shot her in the head because her mother rejected his advances twice at a party. Authorities have revealed that 23-year-old Marcos Antonio Echartea was arrested on Sunday, June 23, in Fresno on suspicion of three counts of attempted murder.
He reportedly shot into a car where the mother and child were sitting along with another male friend. The child, whose name is Fayth Percy, is in a critical but stable condition and had to have surgery to remove all the bullet fragments from her head, said Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.
According to a report by Daily Mail, Dyer shared, "We're very fortunate that she's alive. It tears my heart up to see a baby of that age lying in the hospital." Authorities concluded that the incident had taken place in a neighborhood located north of the California city, a week ago. The suspect had attempted to hold the child's 18-year-old mother, Deziree Menagh's hand but she did not respond to his advances. Just before leaving, Echartea also tried to pull the woman onto his lap.
The mother had reportedly shared the incident with people before getting into a car with a friend and driving a block away before she spotted Echartea "walking quickly towards the car". It was at this point that the suspect took out his handgun and shot three times at the car, hitting the child who was in her mother's arms, Dyer said. Menagh's friend called the police while driving little Fayth to the hospital.
Officers who were nearby helped control the situation until an ambulance arrived and Echartea was arrested close to the location of the party. "We are hoping and praying that Baby Fayth is able to survive this injury as well as make a full recovery. I know the parents are broken. They're hurting," Dyer shared.
The police chief added that the 23-year-old man is a suspect in another shooting which had taken place in May where he fired into a former girlfriend's new partner's house. According to the police, the bullet came within a foot of hitting a one-year-old inside the property. Echartea is currently facing multiple felony charges, including attempted murder and firing into an occupied dwelling.