2-year-old found dead in backseat of abandoned stolen SUV; child’s father shot dead, police say

HOUSTON – A 2-year-old in Houston is dead after police say the little boy was found in a stolen vehicle.

KPRC, KSAT’s sister station in Houston, said the man allegedly responsible for the theft was gunned down in a southwest Houston parking lot Tuesday afternoon.

Houston police believe the toddler died after being left in the hot vehicle.

An investigation revealed that a man wearing a security guard uniform was fueling up at a local gas station and was seen meeting up with another man at the pumps around 1:45 p.m.

KPRC reported that the men got into an argument and the suspect shot the man in the security guard uniform multiple times before getting into the victim’s SUV and driving off.

Around 6:30 p.m. police say they received a call from a woman who reported that her husband and child were missing.

The description the woman gave of her husband matched the description of the man in the security guard uniform, KPRC reported.

That prompted authorities to then search for the toddler. The abandoned SUV was located around 30 minutes after police learned of the missing child, and the toddler was found unresponsive in the back seat.

Officers tried to do CPR on the child and called the ambulance, but the child was pronounced dead at the scene, according to KPRC.

Houston police shared on Twitter that a possible suspect has been detained and is currently being questioned.