A Georgia man kidnapped and then fatally shot his 1-year-old daughter before turning the gun on himself in an apparent murder-suicide, authorities said Sunday.
According to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, Jaquari Bennett was found shot to death behind a church in Riverdale, WSB-TV reported.
The girl’s father, Darian Javaris Bennett, 38, is also dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the television station.
Newton County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Jack Redlinger said during a Sunday news conference that he received a call at about 7:20 a.m. regarding a 911 call in Clayton County about a man claiming he was about to kill himself. GPS coordinates tracked the call to the church, where Riverdale police found Darian Bennett and his daughter, Redlinger said.
The mother of the child, Keashawn Washington, 38, is also dead, and the child’s grandmother, Peggy Burns, 63, is hospitalized in critical condition, the sheriff’s office said.
An Amber Alert had been issued for Jaquari Bennett late Saturday, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
“It is with great heartache that we update this #AmberAlert,” the agency wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday. “Baby Jaquari has died.”
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Jaquari Bennett was taken from her home in Covington at around 11 p.m. EDT Saturday by her father, WSB reported.
Redlinger said that there were also two juveniles in the home when Darian Bennett opened fire. Redlinger said the children were half-siblings to Jaquari Bennett and not related to the alleged gunman.
It is unclear what led to the kidnapping and shootings. An investigation is ongoing.
“We just don’t know what triggered this,” Redlinger told reporters. “We don’t know if there are any mental issues. I am not familiar with any arrests on (Damian Bennett) yet, so I’m not familiar with his background.”
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