2 Kids Shot Dead; Third Child Held Hostage At Gunpoint In Mississippi Home

Two children were discovered with gunshot wounds inside a Mississippi home, where another child was held hostage by a 25-year-old man.

The armed suspect, Marquez Griffin, was arrested at the scene after responding deputies negotiated with him and managed to de-escalate the situation.

The incident took place at an apartment complex in Jonestown early Monday morning. The Coahoma County Sheriff's Office received a call at around 2 a.m. about a child being shot and arrived at the scene, WREG reported.

"An off-duty sheriff's deputy that lives in Jonestown heard the call go out over the radio and immediately responded to the scene," the sheriff's office said in a statement. "Upon arrival, the off-duty deputy along with other sheriff's deputies made contact with the suspect who was holding a child at gunpoint."

Deputies at the scene spoke to Griffin and talked him into dropping his weapon. They immediately took him into custody while the child was brought to safety.

The two other child victims, a 9-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl, were eventually found inside the residence with gunshot wounds. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene, while the baby was rushed to the hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.

The suspect is facing charges for the incident.

"Marquez Griffin, who recently moved back to this area from Arlington, Texas, was arrested and is in custody at the Coahoma County Adult Detention Center, where he has been charged with 2 counts of murder and 2 counts of aggravated assault," the sheriff's office noted in the statement.

The relationship between Griffin and the children was not immediately clear.

Melrose Haile, who identified herself as the deceased baby girl's grandmother, said the suspect was a friend of the child's mother.

"All I know is my grandbaby Averi Jones is gone and I just want everyone to know that Averi Baby was a sweet baby. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve this at all," Haile told WREG.

"Her mom told me she was asleep and he put a pillow over her head and shot her in her head," Haile added.

The grandmother also said there were several kids at the residence when the two child victims were shot.

The motive behind the killings is still unclear.

"She told me they were friends and how could a friend do this to you?" Haile told the outlet.

Meanwhile, Jonestown resident Otha Lee Hunter Jr. said it's generally quiet in the area where the hostage incident took place.

"Never had a double homicide like this," Hunter told ABC24.

"It's sort of frightening. You normally... when you hear of two children getting killed like that, it's sort of rough on the community," Hunter continued. "I've raised about 13 kids and have about 20 grands almost, so it's sort of rough on me. It's sort of rough on everybody that lives in this community."