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.
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.
---
Do you have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newstips@fox61.com
---
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
Apple App Store: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Stream Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.