Police say the child’s father fired the fatal shot; the boy’s mother says he was unarmed as officers opened fire.
LAS VEGAS — A 3-year-old boy died after a pre-dawn hostage standoff on Tuesday at an apartment complex in the south Las Vegas Valley, where officers confronted the child’s father outside a residence and multiple shots were fired, police said.
Authorities and family members offered sharply different accounts of the moments before the gunfire. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said the father pointed a handgun at the child while approaching officers, prompting them to shoot and leading the father to fire as well. The child’s mother, who called 911 for help during a domestic dispute, said the father did not have a weapon in his hands when officers opened fire. The department plans to identify the involved officers later this week, with a public briefing expected within 72 hours under agency policy.
Officers were dispatched around 1:20 a.m. to Parkside Villas on South Maryland Parkway after reports that a man battered a woman and tried to take a juvenile from a home. Capt. Ryan Wiggins said the suspect—identified by the child’s mother as Quinton Baker—went into a residence with their son, then emerged holding the child at gunpoint and moving toward officers despite commands to stop. “The suspect approached the officers still holding the juvenile hostage,” Wiggins said. “Officers discharged their firearms,” and the suspect discharged his weapon “while pointing his firearm in the direction of the juvenile,” he said. The child, identified by his mother as Kentre Baker, was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. The suspect died at the scene. No officers were injured.
The mother, Raneka Pate, said she called police seeking help to de-escalate because her son was present and the father was agitated. Pate said she watched parts of the confrontation from a patrol car and disputes key claims. “He did not have a weapon,” Pate said, adding that “seven or eight officers had their weapons fully drawn” as the father carried the child toward them. Pate and relatives said they will request body-camera footage to determine what happened. Domestic violence advocates said the case reflects extreme “power and control” dynamics when a child is used during a conflict, and called the child’s death devastating for the family and community.
Police said the incident is the department’s third officer-involved shooting of the year. Metro recorded 23 domestic violence-related homicides last year, up slightly from the year before and below a recent high two years ago. The complex, located near Windmill Lane and Wigwam Parkway, was cordoned off for hours Tuesday as detectives marked shell casings and collected video from exterior cameras and nearby apartments. The Clark County coroner’s office will make formal identifications and determine exact causes of death.
Under department policy, Metro is expected to release the names of officers who fired their weapons within 48 hours and to present preliminary findings at a briefing within 72 hours. Detectives are examining the sequence of gunfire, the distance between the parties, and whether any rounds from officers struck the child. Investigators are also gathering 911 recordings, body-camera video, and witness statements from residents who were awake when the shots were fired shortly after 1:30 a.m. Any charging decisions, if applicable, would follow the fact-finding review conducted after officer-involved shootings in Clark County.
Neighbors said they woke to sirens and the thump of a helicopter circling overhead as officers took positions along South Maryland Parkway. Several residents described officers shouting commands before a burst of gunfire and then quiet except for radios. “You heard the yelling, then it was just the worst kind of silence,” said a resident who declined to share his last name. Liz Ortenburger, CEO of SafeNest, said cases like this leave communities grieving and searching for answers. “There is no deeper way to hurt a mom than to take and murder their child,” she said.
As of Wednesday morning, the investigation remained active, with a department update expected by Friday and a public briefing anticipated by the weekend. The coroner’s office is also expected to post formal identifications in the coming days.
Author note: Last updated February 4, 2026.