Police have released the name of a man they pursued from St. George into Arizona on Thursday, and then shot and killed, after he reportedly threatened to kill a baby.
According to Washington City police, officers attempted to contact 30-year-old Oscar Alcantara on a report that he had brandished a gun the previous Saturday night. When officers arrived at a home in St. George, the suspect was seen leaving as a passenger in an SUV.
When police stopped the SUV, the woman who was driving ran from the vehicle. She told officers the suspect had a gun and was in the backseat with her infant son. The man got in the driver’s seat and drove away “at a high rate of speed,” according to a statement from the Washington City Police Department and the Mohave County (Arizona) Sheriff’s Office.
He was pursued by Washington City and St. George police through St. George, Santa Clara and Ivins before getting on Old Highway 91 and driving to Mohave County, Arizona. The suspect stopped near Beaver Dam, Arizona, and ran into an open field with the infant, according to police.
When officers contacted the man by cellphone, he threatened to kill the infant and was seen “pointing a gun at the child,” according to police. At this point, an officer with the St. George Police Department Tactical Team shot and killed the suspect.
The infant “appeared to be unharmed” and was taken to a hospital as a precaution.
Police did not say which officer fired, or how many shots were fired. The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.
— Salt Lake Tribune reporter Jordan Miller contributed to this report.