KENNER, La. — A three-year-old child in Kenner was shot dead inside a home, and his father was found in the driveway with a 'self-inflicted' gunshot wound to the head in a tragic incident Wednesday night, according to police.
“This is a tragedy, it was a very emotional scene for not just the family members, but the neighbors that all knew the child. So, it's one of those moments that neighborhood will never forget,” said Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley at a press meeting Thursday.
The shooting happened at a home in the 800 block of 27th Street in Kenner.
“Officers arrived on scene and found Melvin McClinton Sr., 39, lying in the driveway of the residence with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Officers then entered the home and found a 3-year-old, in a bedroom, deceased from an apparent gunshot wound,” Kenner Police said in a report released Thursday.
Detectives learned that McClinton Sr. became involved in a physical altercation with the mother of the child. McClinton Sr. then armed himself with a gun, shot the child, walked outside, and shot himself.
"There was a domestic disturbance over the father's disciplining of the child," said Conley.
The child was pronounced deceased on the scene by EMS. McClinton Sr. was unresponsive but still breathing and was transported to the hospital.
McClinton Sr. was the father of Melvin McClinton, 18, who was shot and killed on February 5, in the 1600 block of 42nd Street, Kenner. Chief Conley said that homicide was the first in Kenner for 2024.
Family members described McClinton Sr. as emotionally and mentally struggling with the shooting death of his son.
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