Six-month-old shot repeatedly during standoff with child’s father

Child is in hospital in a stable condition, as police say father was found dead of self-inflicted gunshot wound

A man suspected of shooting his 6-month-old son multiple times after taking the boy and his mother hostage was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in the rubble of a suburban Phoenix home that caught fire during a swat standoff, police said.

The baby was reported to be in a critical but stable condition at a local hospital Saturday, police said in a statement. They said earlier his injuries suffered the day before were not believed to be life-threatening.

At about 3am on Friday, the father of the child allegedly broke into the home where the child and mother lived, according to police in Surprise, Arizona, about 30 miles north-west of Phoenix. The child's father did not live in the house, police said, adding that the man held the mother and child hostage for several hours before the mother managed to escape.