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US Marshals arrest man accused of shooting, killing mom and baby; found in Puerto Rico: Hartford police

Lance Morales is accused of shooting and killing Jessiah Mercado, 20, and her baby, Messiah Diaz, both of Springfield, Mass. A man in his 20s was also injured.
Three victims arrived to the Hartford Hospital emergency room Tuesday, according to police.

HARTFORD, Conn. — The man accused of shooting and killing a 20-year-old mom and her 4-month-old baby in Hartford on Tuesday has been arrested.

Hartford police announced Saturday that the U.S. Marshals found Waterbury resident Lance Morales, 23, in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, and was taken into custody. He is being held on a $3 million bond and is waiting to be extradited to Connecticut.

Morales will be charged with criminal possession of a firearm, assault, criminal attempt to commit assault, two counts of murder and murder with special circumstances. 

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Morales is accused of shooting and killing Jessiah Mercado, 20, and her baby, Messiah Diaz, both of Springfield, Mass. while they were in a car in the 300 block of New Britain Avenue. A man in his 20s was also injured.

Surveillance video confirmed Morales pulled his vehicle alongside the victim’s vehicle and opened fire.

The gun used in the shooting was equipped with a Glock switch, which is a cheap and illegal modification that essentially converts a semi-automatic pistol into a wildly inaccurate automatic weapon with a nearly uncontrollable rate of fire.

While police were searching for Morales, they found the Infiniti Q70 he was driving unoccupied Thursday.

This is a breaking news story.

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