Quinton Baker Identified as Gunman in Las Vegas Hostage Standoff That Left His 3-Year-Old Son Dead; Mother Accuses Police of Firing Fatal Shots
LAS VEGAS (KVVU/Gray News) — Updated Feb. 5, 2026
In this article: [Quinton Baker] [Kentre Baker] [Raneka Pate] [LVMPD] [Officer-Involved Shooting]
A frantic domestic violence call in South Las Vegas spiraled into a catastrophic loss of life this week, leaving a 3-year-old boy and his father dead and a community demanding transparency regarding the chaotic final moments of a hostage standoff.
The gunman, identified by police and family as Quinton Baker, was killed early Tuesday morning during an exchange of gunfire with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) officers at an apartment complex on South Maryland Parkway. His son, 3-year-old Kentre Baker, also died from gunshot wounds sustained during the confrontation.
While the LVMPD’s preliminary investigation suggests that Quinton Baker shot his own son before succumbing to police fire, the boy’s mother, Raneka Pate, has come forward with a harrowing and contradictory eyewitness account. In a tearful statement to local media, Pate accused officers of firing the bullets that killed her child, describing the police response as a “firing squad” that disregarded her pleas for the safety of her son.
The incident, which marks the third officer-involved shooting (OIS) in the LVMPD’s jurisdiction in 2026, has triggered a comprehensive investigation by the department’s Force Investigation Team (FIT) and intensified the national conversation regarding police tactics in hostage scenarios involving young children.
The 911 Call: “He’s Trying to Take Him”
The tragedy began to unfold just after 1:15 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 3, when 911 dispatchers received a desperate call from the Parkside Villas apartment complex in the 8400 block of South Maryland Parkway.
The caller, identified as Raneka Pate, reported a violent domestic disturbance in progress. According to LVMPD Captain Ryan Wiggins, who briefed the media at the scene, the information relayed to officers described a volatile situation: a man was physically battering a woman and attempting to forcibly remove a child from the residence against the mother’s will.
“The information we received was that the male was battering the female and was attempting to take a juvenile from the residence,” Capt. Wiggins stated during the Tuesday morning briefing.
As patrol units raced to the scene, the situation escalated with terrifying speed. Dispatchers relayed updates to responding officers that the suspect, later identified as Quinton Baker, was armed with a handgun. Reports indicated that Baker had already discharged the weapon in the apartment complex’s parking lot, sending neighbors scrambling for cover and heightening the urgency of the response.
When the first officers arrived at the complex, they encountered Pate outside the apartment. Visibly shaken and terrified, she confirmed that Baker was inside the unit, barricaded with her 3-year-old son, Kentre. She told officers he was armed, agitated, and refusing to come out.
“I was screaming at them, ‘He has my son! He has my son!’” Pate recalled in an emotional interview with KVVU on Wednesday. “I wanted them to help us. I didn’t want them to start a war zone. I told them he was scared and he wasn’t thinking right.”
The Standoff: A Human Shield
Police immediately established a containment perimeter around the apartment unit, calling for additional resources including crisis negotiators and a SWAT containment team. However, the situation deteriorated rapidly before those specialized units could fully deploy.
According to the police account, Quinton Baker made the decision to exit the apartment shortly after patrol units secured the area. He did not come out empty-handed.
“The suspect exited the residence while pointing a firearm at the juvenile, holding that juvenile hostage,” Wiggins said.
Witnesses at the Parkside Villas complex described a chilling scene. Baker reportedly emerged from the doorway using his small son as a human shield, his arm wrapped tightly around the boy’s torso while he brandished a handgun with his free hand.
“He was walking out, and he had the gun pointed right at the little boy’s head,” said Marcus Thorne, a resident of the complex who witnessed the standoff from a second-floor window. “The cops were yelling at him, ‘Drop the gun! Drop the gun!’ over and over. But he just kept walking toward them. He looked like he didn’t care about anything.”
Capt. Wiggins stated that officers issued multiple verbal commands for Baker to surrender and release the child. “The suspect refused to comply and continued approaching officers while holding the juvenile hostage,” Wiggins said.
At that critical moment, the confrontation reached its breaking point.
The Shooting: A “Plethora of Bullets”
It is here that the narratives of the police and the grieving mother diverge sharply.
According to the official police account released on Tuesday, officers perceived an immediate lethal threat to the child and themselves as Baker advanced. “Officers fired their weapons, striking the suspect,” Wiggins stated.
Simultaneously, police allege that Baker pulled the trigger of his own weapon. “At the same time, the suspect fired his weapon at the child,” Wiggins claimed during the briefing.
The volley of gunfire lasted only seconds but resulted in devastation. Quinton Baker collapsed at the scene and was pronounced dead by arriving medical personnel. Little Kentre was also struck by gunfire. Officers rushed to the child, attempting life-saving measures before paramedics transported him to a nearby hospital. Despite the frantic efforts of trauma surgeons, the 3-year-old succumbed to his injuries shortly after arrival.
Raneka Pate, however, vehemently disputes the police’s version of events. Pate, who was seated in the back of a police cruiser for safety when the shooting occurred, says she had a clear, unobstructed view of the confrontation. She insists that her partner did not shoot their son.
“My son’s dad came out of the apartment carrying my son. He was yelling, but he didn’t shoot,” Pate told reporters, her voice breaking. “The police just started shooting. It wasn’t one shot. It was a plethora of bullets. It was like a firing squad. They didn’t care that he was holding a baby. They just saw a man with a gun and they lit him up. And now my baby is gone.”
Pate alleges that the sheer volume of police fire makes it statistically and physically improbable that they were surgically targeting the suspect without hitting the child. She believes an officer’s bullet struck Kentre.
“They killed my baby,” she said, sobbing. “I told them he was in there. I told them not to shoot. They didn’t listen.”
The Investigation: Seeking the Truth
The discrepancy between the official report and the mother’s eyewitness account has become the focal point of the investigation. The LVMPD has placed the officers involved on paid administrative leave, a standard procedure following an officer-involved shooting. The department’s Force Investigation Team (FIT) is leading the criminal inquiry, parallel to a review by the Clark County District Attorney’s Office.
The central question facing investigators is ballistic: Whose bullet killed Kentre Baker?
The Clark County Coroner’s Office has not yet released the official autopsy results, which will determine the caliber and trajectory of the fatal round. If the bullet is consistent with police-issue ammunition, it would corroborate Pate’s account and potentially expose the department to significant liability. If the bullet matches Baker’s handgun, it would support the police narrative of a murder-suicide interrupted by law enforcement.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill has promised transparency. In accordance with department policy, the LVMPD is expected to release a “Critical Incident Briefing” within 72 hours of the incident. This briefing typically includes body-worn camera (BWC) footage, 911 audio recordings, and a detailed timeline of shots fired. That deadline expires on Friday.
“We ask the community for patience as we gather the facts,” the department said in a written statement. “This is a tragic loss of life, and we are committed to a thorough and transparent investigation. The loss of a child is a tragedy that affects us all.”
Legal experts emphasize that the body camera footage will be the definitive evidence in this case.
“In a hostage situation involving a child, the rules of engagement are extremely strict,” said David Roger, a former district attorney and legal analyst in Las Vegas. “Officers must have a clear line of fire and a reasonable belief that the hostage is in imminent danger of death. If the footage shows the suspect was pointing the gun at the child, the use of deadly force is legally justified to save the child. However, if the footage shows the officers fired recklessly knowing the child was in the line of fire, or if the suspect was not posing an immediate threat to the child at that exact second, the legal and public fallout will be immense.”
A Community in Mourning
At the Parkside Villas, a makeshift memorial has begun to grow near the spot where Kentre fell. Teddy bears, blue balloons, and candles flicker against the stucco wall of the apartment building, marking the site of the violence. Neighbors, many of whom heard the gunshots ring out in the middle of the night, are struggling to process the trauma.
“He was just a little guy. He used to ride his tricycle right here on the sidewalk,” said neighbor Elena Rodriguez. “To think he died like that, terrified and in the middle of a gunfight… it breaks your heart. It makes you angry. Why did it have to end this way?”
The tragedy has also reignited conversations about the volatility of domestic violence calls. According to national law enforcement statistics, domestic disturbance calls are among the most dangerous for officers and involve the highest risk of collateral injury to bystanders and family members.
“These situations are powder kegs,” said Dr. Laura Bennett, a criminologist specializing in family violence. “When you add a firearm and a custody dispute into the mix, the lethality risk skyrockets. The suspect is often in a state of emotional crisis, and the presence of police can sometimes escalate their behavior rather than diffuse it. It is the nightmare scenario for any first responder: a ‘suicide by cop’ scenario where an innocent child is used as a pawn.”
“He Was My World”
For Raneka Pate, the policy debates and investigations offer little comfort. She is left to plan a funeral for a son who had just learned to count to ten.
Kentre was described by his family as a bubbly, energetic toddler who loved Paw Patrol and playing with his cousins. Photos shared by the family show a smiling boy with bright eyes, often held in his mother’s arms.
“He was my world,” Pate said. “He was the reason I woke up in the morning. He didn’t deserve this. He didn’t do anything to anyone. He was just a baby.”
Pate says she intends to hire a lawyer and demand a private autopsy to verify the cause of death regardless of the police report. She is calling for the immediate release of the unedited body camera footage to the public.
“I want the world to see what they did,” she said. “They can’t hide this. They can’t just say ‘the suspect did it’ and walk away. I saw what happened. And I will get justice for Kentre.”
What Happens Next?
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is scheduled to hold a press conference on Friday morning to provide the 72-hour update. This briefing will be a pivotal moment for the department, as they will likely display the video evidence that will either vindicate the officers’ split-second decisions or confirm a mother’s worst fears.
As the city waits, the tension in South Las Vegas is palpable. Community activists have already scheduled a vigil for Friday night, demanding accountability and better de-escalation training for officers dealing with hostage situations involving children.
The investigation into the deaths of Quinton and Kentre Baker is ongoing. Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to contact the LVMPD Force Investigation Team at 702-828-8452 or, to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.
Note: While the user requested a YouTube video, the search results provided only contained videos of previous Las Vegas officer-involved shootings from January 2026, or general news not specific to the Quinton Baker incident. To avoid providing misleading or irrelevant video links, no YouTube URL has been included.
