A Philadelphia man, Nafes Monroe, has been arrested and charged for allegedly using his 11-month-old son as a human shield while trying to buy drugs with fake money.
The 25-year-old, who is also wanted by the police for drug-related offenses, often uses his son to deter dealers from opening fire at him whenever he buys drugs using counterfeit money in the city’s Hunting Park section.
He was reportedly sitting with his girlfriend, his son and another man in the car in the 700 Block of West Luzerne when an unknown man opened fire at them at around 7:50 pm.
Reacting after the incident, head of the District’s Office Homicide Unit, Anthony Voci revealed that Monroe had developed the habit of taking his son to buy drugs knowing the dangers of his actions.
“It’s our belief that he intentionally had his child with him when he was making such types of purchases, with the idea, or the belief that if someone saw that he had a child in the car that they would not fire upon him.”
“A human shield is the term that I would probably use”‘
After several shots, the toddler, Yazeem Munir Jenkins sustained deep gunshot wounds to the head, the neck and rare of his body, reported the police department spokeswoman.
Monroe, surprisingly drove home after the incident rather than rush his son to the hospital.
Police previously said if the baby survives, he does not have a chance of a full recovery and will most likely be quadriplegic.
In a related development, the suspect behind the shooting – 29-year-old, Francisco Ortiz, has been arrested by the police. The Washington Post reports he was also accused of providing the AK-47 rifle that killed Nikolette in another drug-related incident.
Gunman linked to the shooting of 11 month old Yaseem Jenkins, is taken into custody today. The infant was relocated tonight from St. Christophers to @ChildrensPhila. The family saying “My son is fighting for his life and it’s not fair.” @6abc pic.twitter.com/gqAwSGeDST
— Christie Ileto (@Christie_Ileto) October 25, 2019
Gun violence against children has become rampant in the city.
Yazeem’s shooting comes off the back of two similar incidents that happened this October. Before him, 2-year-old Nikolette Rivera was killed in a home in what was another drug-related shooting, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported last month.
“These scenes should not continue to happen in our city,” acting Philadelphia police commissioner Christine Coulter said at an Oct. 21 news conference. “We can’t allow this violence to continue on our streets day in and day out and knowing that there are people who wantonly have no regard for human life or human safety out there.”
