Suspected Shooter, Child Kidnapper Dies In Shootout With Louisiana Police

A Baton Rouge, Louisiana man, who reportedly fled a double murder scene with his four-month-old baby, was shot dead on Monday following a police shootout in southern Mississippi.

Eric Derell Smith, 30, died in Harrison County, ending a slow-speed police chase on Interstate 10 east Monday afternoon. Fox News reported Smith was holding the newborn in his lap during the shootout.

The 4-month-old baby was luckily unscathed during the shootout. The child was taken to Merit Hospital in Biloxi and is now in stable condition, Biloxi Police Chief John Miller said in an interview with The Advocate.

"Right now our top priority is locating that child safely," Sheriff Sid Gautreaux said in a statement.

Smith went on the run with his child after two people were found dead from gunshot wounds in a Baker home address on Monday morning. The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office first responded to a 911 hang-up call in the area of 2000 Richmond Street, Baker, around 11 miles north of Baton Rouge, around 11:30 a.m.

At around 3 p.m., State Police confirmed Smith's car was spotted in Mississippi after he led troopers to I-10 near milepost 41. Highway camera video footage recorded along the route showed a mass of police SUVs tailing the suspect's vehicle, a black-tinted Blue Nissan Altima.

Harrison County’s coroner noted Smith was sitting in the driver’s seat of the car when he was hit with multiple gunshots. The coroner said the suspect did not die from self-inflicted wounds.

According to WBRZ, authorities are considering the fatal shooting on Baker to be the product of a domestic dispute involving the two family members. According to the Sheriff's Office, the Louisiana father reportedly entered the home and shot his ex-girlfriend and her nephew before seizing the child. The victims were identified as Christin Parker, 32, and Brandon Parker, 26.

Smith was previously arrested for simple battery, a misdemeanor charge, following an altercation at Jack in the Box on Sullivan Road.

A former restaurant worker, Smith allegedly threw a plastic cup at his manager, who sustained a minor cut on one of his fingers. The man then punched the manager twice in the face before fleeing the scene and getting arrested by authorities, online court records reveal.