Man charged after toddler shot in north St. Louis County
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A man accused of shooting a toddler earlier this week in north St. Louis County is now behind bars.
Prosecutors have charged Deshaun Harlan, 24, with nine felonies amid the investigation. Those include three counts of armed criminal action, two counts of first-degree assault, one count of first-degree robbery, and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm.
Harlan reportedly shot a toddler Thursday evening near the 1900 block of Chambers Road during after an arrangement to meet his father through the Skip app.
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According to court documents obtained by FOX 2, Harlan and a victim initially used the Skip app to discuss a plan to exchange an AR-15 weapon for marijuana.
Harlan and the victim initially met Thursday at an undisclosed time near the 9800 block of Winkler Drive, during which Harlan reportedly showed the AR-15, held it to the victim’s head, and demanded him to hand over the marijuana. Both left the scene shortly after that, and it’s believed Harlan took off with the marijuana.
The victim picked up his wife and his son, a two-year-old, shortly after his first encounter with Harlan, per court documents. He then received another order from the Skip app to meet in the 1900 block of Chambers Road. Once again, this led to an encounter with Harlan and the victim, this time with his wife and child inside a car.
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According to court documents, Harlan fired six shots around 7 p.m. Thursday with at least one blowing out a windshield and at least one striking the victim’s child. The scene cleared quickly after that, and the victim was rushed to a hospital with undisclosed injuries.
Later on, the victim spoke with officers who used information on the victim’s phone to track down Harlan and acquire a search warrant. Harlan was arrested after that and formally charged in the shooting on Saturday.
Per court documents, Harlan is a convicted felon who was on parole at the time of the shooting.
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