4-Year-Old Boy Found Dead In Middle Of Street; Suspect Arrested

A man has been arrested in connection with the death of a toddler whose body was found lying in the middle of a Texas street Saturday morning, Dallas police said.

The 4-year-old boy's body was found with multiple wounds about 7 a.m. in front of a home in the 7500 block of Saddleridge Drive, near West Wheatland Road and Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas Police Department executive assistant chief Albert Martinez told NBC Dallas-Fort Worth. The toddler was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

It was not detailed what kind of wounds the child had or what was used to inflict them. This was the report filed when officers arrived at the scene.

Martinez said the boy died violently and that they believe that an "edged weapon" was used in the crime. The police spokesperson also described the circumstances of the case as "unusual."

Police arrested a man possibly linked to the death of the 4-year-old child before 10 p.m., WFAA reported. Details about the suspect were not released. The Dallas Police Department said the man’s identity will be released only once he is booked in jail.

“Through the hard work of the men and women of the Dallas Police Department this criminal was brought to justice and it would not have been possible without the Dallas FBI Evidence Response Team and the public’s assistance,” an official release from the police department read.

The body of the boy was found by a neighbor named Antwainese Square, who went out for a walk in the neighborhood and discovered a figure lying on the street at around 6:40 a.m. Square said she did not recognize the toddler and was hysterical as she alerted police, Dallas News reported.

Square told authorities she realized the boy was dead after seeing ants at the bottom of his feet. She said that the child’s face and the upper half of his body were covered in blood and that the toddler didn’t have on shoes or a shirt when she found his body.

“As a mother, this just — it breaks my heart,” Square said. “It breaks my heart. And now I’m afraid. Now I’m paranoid. Because I don’t know what happened, I don’t know what’s going on.

“I mean just knowing that someone out there is capable of killing a child, that alone is just unsettling,” she said. “So I am praying that that baby gets justice.”

The Big Cedar Wilderness Trail, which was near where the body was found, is a popular spot for biking and was thick with mesquite trees and cacti. It was sealed with a crime-scene tape as FBI agents scoured the area.

Despite the arrest in connection with the child’s death, authorities are still seeking the assistance of neighbors or anyone who may have information or videos tied to the case. Anyone with information is urged to call 911 or the Dallas Police Department's Child Abuse Unit at 214-275-1300.