Thanks to a footprint in the snow, a suspect is in custody following the shooting deaths of three people, including two children, in Nashville Friday Jan. 12.
Two children, aged 5 and 8, were killed, and their mother seriously wounded outside their home—all three were shot by the woman’s stepson, a felon out on bail with multiple prior convictions.
It is not clear what led up to the incident, in which 24-year-old Queshan Brooks opened fire on his stepmother and two young half-siblings outside a home on the 2600 block of Jenkins Court.
But the children, identified as 5-year-old Samaii and 8-year-old Sammarre Daniel, are dead, and their mother, 45-year-old Darnyyka Daniel, is in hospital in serious condition.
After the shooting, Brooks fled the scene on foot and carjacked a vehicle, firing on both occupants.
The driver, identified as 70-year-old Robert Payne, was killed.
The passenger, 52-year-old Patrick Hancock, was pistol-whipped and shot in the arm. He remains in critical condition.
The suspect’s escape was brief, and was cut short when the car spun off the road.
The unusually snowy weather helped pursuing officers apprehend Brooks, it was reported. Footprints leading away from the vehicle directed police to the suspect, who was hiding nearby.
“The weather and obviously the snow, the tracks, did assist in locating that suspect,” Mumford said.
Brooks is expected to be charged with three counts of murder, among other charges. Police told reporters Brooks is refusing to answer detectives’ questions and the motive for the shooting is under investigation.
“It’s very difficult for any officer who comes upon a deceased child and this kind of violence. We urge anyone who may be in a domestic violence situation to call our domestic violence detectives.” Mumford said.
Brooks was free on $25,000 bond for a pending felony aggravated assault arrest from September 2017. Prior to that, he was convicted of aggravated robbery in May 2014 and received a six-year sentence.
