A man was arrested Wednesday after he fatally shot a young mother and tried taking her child in DeKalb County, officials said.
Police responded to a day care in the 5300 block of Snapfinger Park Circle, where 22-year-old Taco Nash “forcefully removed” Mi’Ckeya Montgomery, 21, and her child, DeKalb police spokeswoman Officer Elise Wells said. An arrest warrant obtained Friday by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution alleges that Nash forced Montgomery and the child at gunpoint off the property and into a wooded area.
When Montgomery tried to flee, Nash shot and killed her, according to Wells. Montgomery’s family members told Channel 2 Action News that Nash was the 16-month-old’s father.
Investigators have accused him of causing the child “cruel or excessive physical or mental pain” by shooting the woman in the mouth in the children’s presence, the warrant states.
Nash eventually surrendered to authorities, police said, and was booked into the DeKalb jail. He is facing charges of malice murder, second-degree cruelty to children and two counts of felony kidnapping, according to the warrant.
The child was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, Wells said.
Nash has a history of arrests related to family violence dating back to 2020, jail and court records show. At least once, Montgomery attempted to take out a temporary protective order against him, but the case was dismissed without prejudice in March 2021.
Nash was arrested in East Point in August 2021 on two counts of aggravated assault related to family violence and single counts of false imprisonment and reckless conduct, as well as weapons charges related to those crimes and his status as a felon.
He was released March 13 in that case ahead of a September trial date, only to be arrested 10 days later in DeKalb County on charges of battery related to family violence and third-degree cruelty to children.
Montgomery’s family said Nash was wearing an ankle monitor at the time of Wednesday’s shooting.
The killing comes days after 1-year-old Jaquari Bennett and her mother, 38-year-old Keashawn Washington, were fatally shot by the child’s father, Darian Javaris Bennett, in Newton County, according to the GBI.
Jaquari was reported missing and in “extreme danger” Saturday. Police said Darian Bennett shot and killed Washington before kidnapping Jaquari, triggering an Amber Alert.
The search came to an end in Clayton County after Darian Bennett called police and threatened to kill himself. Emergency dispatchers were able to track the call to the area of Riverdale First United Methodist Church, about 40 miles from where the child was taken, Newton County officials said.
Responding officers located Bennett’s vehicle, and as they were checking on it, gunshots were heard coming from behind the building. Officers found the child shot to death in a secluded wooded area behind the church. Bennett also killed himself, police said.
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