Harrison County
A 2-month-old baby wouldn’t stop crying, so its father allegedly struck the infant several times in anger, leaving the baby in critical condition, Sheriff Troy Peterson said.
The Gulfport father has been arrested on a felony child abuse charge.
Deputies arrested 21-year-old Buddy Cox on Thursday after an American Medical Response ambulance crew responded to a call about a baby that was having trouble breathing at a home the 18100 block of Campbell Circle, Peterson said.
The rural neighborhood, which has a Gulfport address, is near 28th Street and Canal Road.
A doctor at Memorial Hospital at Gulfport diagnosed the child with severe head trauma, according to the sheriff.
Investigators went to the hospital to interview the parents, and Cox admitted he struck the baby, Peterson said.
A Rescue 5 medical helicopter flew the baby to the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile, Ala.
Deputies arrested Cox late Thursday night. He was booked at the Harrison County jail early Friday and was being held on a $100,000 bond set by Justice Court Judge Melvin Ray.
This story was originally published September 14, 2018 11:54 AM.