A Louisiana father, a double murder suspect, who was killed during a police shootout in Mississippi reportedly used his four-month-old infant son as a human shield.

The shootout took place near the Mississippi-Louisiana border on Monday after Eric Derell Smith kidnapped four-month-old La’Mello Parker after he fatally shot his ex-girlfriend, Christin Parker,32, and her nephew, Brandon Parker,26.

Several minutes after the shooting, Smith was seen on Interstate 10 using the infant as a human shield as Biloxi officers fired off several gunshots. Smith died during the shootout and Parker was rushed to a nearby hospital where he later died from his injuries.

The incident began at about 11:30 a.m. on May 3 last year at the home of the baby’s mother, 32-year-old Christin Parker, in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana.

Police spotted Smith’s vehicle at about 2:52 pm. near the Louisiana – Mississippi state line. Dozens of law enforcement officers from multiple agencies and jurisdictions worked together to shut down roadways and slow down the suspect vehicle.

Officers attempted to deploy stop sticks but Smith drove around them.

The grand jury report released on April 19 showed that at one point during the chase, Smith stopped his car on the interstate in Harrison County and got out of the car with his baby boy on his chest.

Smith began firing at officers using the three-month-old baby as a human shield, according to the report. Then he got back into the vehicle and fled the police again.

A sheriff’s deputy ended the pursuit with a PIT maneuver that brought Smith’s car to a halt in the grass on the median strip. But then the deputy got stuck in the mud and exited his vehicle.

The grand jury report said the sheriff’s deputy drew his handgun and was headed back to the interstate on foot when he realized that his K9 was out of his vehicle. The deputy crossed directly in front of Smith’s line of fire as he went to retrieve the dog, according to the report.

“Smith rolled down his driver side window, extended a handgun from the window, and fired in the direction of the deputy and others,” the report read.

The bullet struck a nearby police vehicle. Multiple law enforcement officers returned fire “simultaneously,” according to the grand jury report.

Smith was shot three times and the baby was shot once. The father was pronounced dead at the scene and the baby died in a Mobile hospital the next day.

The police officer and Harrison County sheriff’s deputy who were present during the shootout were placed on administrative leave.

Authorities said Parker and her nephew were shot inside her home in Baton Rouge Parish but the events that led up to the shooting are currently unknown.

Watch the video report below for more details:

Source: AWM, WWLTV/Youtube