One would hope that every child is safe while in a parent’s arms, but sadly, that’s not always the case, especially when circumstances have gotten exceedingly dangerous for everyone involved. A 3-year-old boy in Las Vegas was shot during a hostage situation involving his father and police officers after a domestic dispute occurred within a home. Both the father and the child died, and the mother of the toddler is disputing claims that the boy’s father approached officers on the scene with a gun, which resulted in shots fired. However the situation escalated, this mother’s life will never be the same.
Nevada authorities have released bodycam footage from the fatal shooting of a 3-year-old boy who was killed while being carried by his father in what was called a “hostage” situation outside a home in Las Vegas, per People. Three-year-old Kentre Baker was being held by his father, 28-year-old Quentin Baker, who police allege approached officers dispatched to the home while he was holding a gun and “pointing it at the child.”
According to People, the bodycam footage shows Quentin Baker “walking toward officers while carrying 3-year-old, Kentre, in his left arm.” Police say the father was “pointing a gun at the child” as he approached officers and they “ordered him to drop the weapon.” Baker did not deny having a gun but instead demanded to see his child’s mother, Raneka Pate, the news outlet reported. When the shooting ensued, it is unclear whether it was the officers or Baker taking the first shot, the magazine reported.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officers were dispatched to a home around 1:19 a.m. February 3, 2026, in the 8400 block of South Maryland Parkway near Wigwam Avenue after a woman, later identified as Kentre Baker’s mother, Raneka Pate, told dispatchers Baker was “going to hurt [her] baby,” according to Fox 5.
In the first dispatched call to authorities, Pate said Baker had “battered her friend” and was going to take her child from her apartment. She also stated that Baker was “threatening to kill [her] and [her] son,” per Fox 5. While they were on their way to the residence, police discovered that Baker had allegedly fired two rounds at a car leaving the apartment complex.
Pate told KSNV that she saw the incident while in a police vehicle car and she “disputes key portions of the police account.” She said she informed police that Baker was “very agitated” and asked officers to “calm or de-escalate the situation without any lethal force” because her son was in the apartment.
Although police say Baker was armed with a gun, Pate states that “he did not have a weapon.” The mother told KSNV that Baker was “carrying [her] son, walking toward the officers” and she alleges there were “seven or eight officers” with their “weapons fully drawn” and the “officers all opened fire.”
The family hopes to see the body camera footage to help them better understand Kentre and Quentin Baker’s last moments. Our thoughts are with the family during this difficult time.
