4 Killed During Alleged Dispute Over Baby; Kidnapped 10-Month-Old Safe

A man and three women were found dead with gunshot wounds in McMinn County, Tennessee, Saturday after what appeared to be a dispute over a 10-month-old baby, police said.

Two suspects, a man and a woman, were arrested Saturday night in connection with the incident, Fox 17 reported. The McMinn County Sheriff's Office said the baby who had been taken by the suspects was found safe.

The incident started around 8 a.m. when the two suspects — later identified as a 38-year-old Curtis D. Smith, of Etowah, and 27-year-old Jazzmine J. Hall, of Athens — arrived at a residence in McMinn County's Riceville community. There were six people inside the home when the suspects entered the house.

"There was some kind of dispute that took place between the female suspect and the male victim over a 10-month old whom they are the parents of," McMinn County Sheriff Joe Guy said in a news release on Facebook.

The dispute turned violent at some point, and four victims — Trevon Hall, 36, Skylar Hawn, 24, Jesse Dupree, 40, and Brandi Harris, 39 — were shot, the sheriff added. Hall and the female suspect were the parents of the child.

One of the two other people who were in the house during the shooting managed to escape. The other pretended to be injured and survived.

The suspects then took the baby and left the scene, police said.

Smith and Hall are were found and arrested just inside Polk County Saturday night in a SWAT operation.

The 10-month-old child was taken to a local hospital for examination before being placed under the custody of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS).

"This has been a challenging day for our community, and our prayers continue to be with the families of the victims of this terrible incident," the sheriff said.

The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.