A 4-year-old boy is dead after his father beat the child and his own mother with a guitar. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
A 4-year-old boy is dead after his cold-blooded father beat the child and his own mother with a guitar before being fatally shot by police in central Arizona last week, authorities said.
Both victims were repeatedly struck in the head and suffered numerous skull fractures, according to police.
The boy was taken to the hospital, but he died the following day. His 51-year-old grandmother survived the assault, but her condition was not immediately known.
The brutal attack happened Thursday afternoon inside a home in Clarkdale, a small town about 100 miles north of Phoenix.
Police said they were initially called to the home for a report of an injured person, so a single officer responded to the scene to assist medical personnel.
The cop, Carlos Godina, immediately realized the severity of the situation as the madman began threatening him with a knife while still carrying the guitar used in the assault, authorities said in a news release.
Godina deployed his taser at one point, but the suspect continued to threaten him, forcing the officer to shoot him, according to the release. The suspect, 33-year-old Joshua Lord, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police have not released the names of the victims, but they said more information will be available as the investigation continues.
The Clarkdale Police Department also plans to host a community meeting at a local school on Thursday to discuss the incident. The forum will “provide a platform for information sharing, education on trauma and resiliency, and available resources within the community.”
