Connecticut Man Arrested in Puerto Rico for Double Homicide of Massachusetts Mother and Infant

After a young woman and her four-month-old child were killed in a horrific shooting in Puerto Rico, Lance Morales, a 23-year-old Connecticut man from Waterbury, was taken into custody. Jessiah Mercado, 20, and her child, Messiah Diaz, both from Springfield, Massachusetts, have been identified as the mother-child pair involved in the Hartford massacre.

According to Boston 25 News, the unfortunate event occurred last Tuesday when a car carrying many gunshot patients pulled up at Hartford Hospital shortly before 3 p.m. At the hospital, Mercado and Diaz were declared deceased. Another man in his twenties was said to have been shot, but his wound was not life-threatening. The motorist came out unscathed. When the suspect’s car drew up behind the victims’ and started shooting on New Britain Avenue, Hartford Police said they think the victims were the intended targets.

After a concerted manhunt by Hartford Police and U.S. Marshals from Connecticut and Massachusetts, Morales was located and taken into custody at a residence in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. In a statement obtained by CBS News, acting U.S. Marshal for the District of Connecticut Lawrence Bobnick stated, “Since the commission of this senseless and heinous act of violence, investigators from the Hartford Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service Violent Fugitive Task Forces in Connecticut and Puerto Rico have tirelessly worked around the clock to bring the suspect to justice.”

Morales has been accused by the authorities of a number of serious crimes, including two instances of murder, murder under special circumstances, assault, and illicit possession of a firearm. Morales, who is now being jailed on a $3 million bond, might be extradited to Connecticut to stand trial on these crimes.

Police are still trying to put together what happened before the fatal confrontation, and the investigation is still ongoing. As more information from the investigation becomes available, updates are anticipated.

Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!