BATON ROUGE, LA – Every parent’s, father’s and police officer’s worst nightmare: A city police officer is mourning the loss of his two-year-old son after a shooter sprayed bullets into the home where his son resides.
Vince Hutchison, Jr. is a police officer in New Roads, LA, a town just north and west of Baton Rouge. Vince had finished a shift and then went to spend time with his son.
He’d just taken him back to the boy’s mother’s house when the unthinkable happened. Azariah Christien Thomas, just two years old, was hit by bullets fired into the house.
The benefit in honor of Azariah Christien Thomas, son of Officer Vince Hutchinson, will be held Thursday, Oct. 22 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. https://t.co/4XLMjdGO9b
— WAFB (@WAFB) October 21, 2020
Speaking about the shooter, Hutchison explained:
“He really took an angel from this earth.
“Christien was loved by many and showed love to many.”
Hutchison went on to explain that this wasn’t a drive-by shooting, and that the shooter is known.
The shooter was identified as Kendrick Myles of Baton Rouge. Hutchison stated that the man exited his vehicle and fired directly into the house where his son was.
The Baton Rouge Police Chief, Murphy Paul, said that Myles kicked in the front door to the home before starting to shoot.
A clear motive has not yet been released, nor information as to whether the shooter had any type of relationship to the boy’s mother.
This child’s murder culminated a violent evening for Myles as at least four incidents were reported.
The first incident was in Baton Rouge, where Myles shot a family member. That person’s injuries weren’t life threatening.
Myles then kidnapped a nine-year-old child, a family member, from a home in East Baton Rouge Parish. It was then that Myles fired shots into the home on Upland Avenue where Christien Thomas was.
This police officer said he last saw his 2-year-old son just hours before the child was killed in a Baton Rouge shooting spree last week: “Words can’t explain the love I have for my son.” https://t.co/festS59kR9 pic.twitter.com/hh9bOQCFJg
— WBRZ News (@WBRZ) October 20, 2020
The last incident occurred back in Baton Rouge, where Myles shot another family member. Myles released the nine-year-old and was captured after a stand-off with police.
Myles is being charged with first degree murder, six counts of attempted first degree murder, attempted second degree murder, three counts of illegal use of a weapon, three counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, home invasion, and being a fugitive from the Baton Rouge Fire Department for an arson investigation, and the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office is charging him with kidnapping.
There is a history here that cannot be refuted.
In 2017, when Myles was a released convicted felon, his probation was revoked because it was reported that he was threatening his family members with a firearm.
When he was arrested in relation to the revocation, he was found with illegal drugs and at least one firearm. His formal arraignment included charges for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana, and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Myles’ attorney filed a motion to dismiss the charges but was denied at a final hearing in August of 2018. It is unclear how much, if any, time Myles served for these convictions along with his probation violation.
It is clear, however, that he was free and walking around this past week when he fulfilled his promises and threats to harm family members.
One could easily cry out for gun control or the intervention of law enforcement into this shooter’s life. The fact is that the man had an established history of drug trafficking and violent outburst towards his family yet was allowed to walk free.
A New Roads Police Officer lost his toddler son in a violent shooting spree in Baton Rouge last week. He told me today his son was an angel. @WBRZ https://t.co/fPrz38NImu
— Chris Nakamoto WBRZ (@ChrisNakamoto) October 19, 2020
We can lambaste the justice system for not doing more, but it is the family and community that have lost a step here. When you allow someone with a proven track record like this around your family or community, you accept the consequences of their actions and resulting travesties.
There is a heartbreaking realization that can be gleaned from this: our police officers risk their lives on a daily basis, thrusting themselves into situations that are dangerous and unpredictable, and most officers think that making it home at the end of a shift is the end to the danger.
This scenario proves that the fear and worry can be easily compounded by the reckless and illegal acts of a family member or acquaintance.
This officer made it home safe from his shift and spent quality time with his son, only to lose him in a split second through something the officer couldn’t control.
August 21, 2020
It was nine o’clock at night, my kids where fighting with each other in the car, we were all hungry and exhausted, and my boy’s argument had no end in sight.
It was HEAVEN!
You see we were driving home from football practice, and just last year this behavior would have made me cringe but 2020 is different.
I watched my boys on that field, and I watched their teammates, and I saw something I have not seen in a long time……JOY. There were smiles, laughing, and you could see a sense of relief as they came together as a team, old teammates reconnecting and new teammates being introduced.
They went to work preparing for a football season they all needed.
It did not take long for the joy I felt seeing these kids’ happiness to be squashed and replaced with uncertainty and frustration. The discussion quickly turned pessimistic about the fate of this season. Coaches talking about the CIAC, and their upcoming meeting with the Department of Public Health.
The overwhelming sentiment was that this season would be over once that meeting took place. The all too familiar feeling of frustration rose in me again. You see, I know that more than anything, my boys need this season, and they need to return to school.
I know this because I, along with my wife, am an expert on my children. We are the only experts on these two boys. Just as those of you hopefully reading this are an expert on yours.
The damage done to children, at risk populations, and the elderly is too high a cost. Kids sports being shut down, music classes, after school youth programs. Seniors clubs not meeting. It’s ripping the guts from these generations.
— Sundance Construction (@SundanceConstr1) August 18, 2020
I understand the passion all parents have in the seemingly endless debates over COVID. This passion comes from our love for our children. It comes from the fact that we as parents know exactly what our kids need.
Since our kids were born, we have been forced to weigh the risks versus rewards of every activity our children have ever done. We have done it all with out a manual. We have made mistakes and we have learned from them, but we ALWAYS have the safety of our children at the forefront of our minds.
Our choices are different because we are all different, our children are all different. They have different needs, different strengths, different obstacles. It is what makes this world so great, diversity. These decisions are not just based on athletics, you can replace football, with band, chess club, debate club, or whatever the “thing” is that your child has a passion for.
The new mandates imposed by @GovPritzker & the @IDPH don’t make sense, ensure schools can’t open, & defy the demands by the CDC & pediatricians across the country who say kids need to return to school. This is outrageous. #REOPENSCHOOLS #twill https://t.co/qkKWhFVQlE
— Milton Township Republican Central Committee (@TheMTRCC) August 14, 2020
We had to “say see you later” to several of our teammates this year. Their parents weighed the risk vs. reward, and the risks of participating on the team this year were greater than the reward. It was an educated decision based on their unique situations.
We all respect their decision and we will miss them. We will welcome them back at a time when the reward becomes greater than the risk.
Until this COVID world began, we as parents had the job of deciding what risks we were willing to accept for our children. We as the experts of our children made those decisions, and continually reassessed our comfort level in every activity our children undertook.
I now feel the frustration of these decisions being made for me. I believe we as parents should be given the facts and information, and it is our job to do what we have been doing since our children have been born.
Then they need to return unsafely.
Sorry to be blunt or sound callous. But the damage that multiple years of irregular education will do to kids, ESPECIALLY vulnerable population kids, is incalculable. https://t.co/34o2BtNOdy
— R James King (@RJamesKing1) August 19, 2020
As a society we are overwhelmed with data and predictions and figures regarding this virus. We as individuals all interpret this in our own way, based on our life experiences and current situation. The virus is real, and it is scary.
My family has lived up close and personal with it. My wife is a nurse who was tasked with caring for COVID positive patience. The first few weeks were scary and hard. She feared bringing it home to us. She struggled with the risk of doing her job, and helping those in need, versus the health of her family. She took every precaution, and we learned to live with it.
Not all people made the same choice, and that is okay. To some who have medical conditions that make the risks of the virus far greater than the reward, they found another path.
To those parents who believe the rewards of their child’s passion outweigh the current risks of the virus, we should demand the right to make that decision. To those parents who feel the opposite, I stand with you as well.
We have been through many difficult situations with our kids, we have navigated all these things without someone stepping in and doing it for us. We are the experts of our children, and we need to take control of their lives again.
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