A Las Vegas mother has publicly accused police officers of being responsible for the death of her three-year-old son, who was killed during a violent hostage situation involving his father. Raneka Pate, 28, made the emotional claim following a tragic domestic dispute that escalated into a fatal confrontation with law enforcement.
A Desperate 911 Call for Help
Pate called emergency services on Tuesday after a domestic dispute with Quinton Baker intensified, putting both her life and their son Kentre Baker's life in immediate danger. "I don’t call the police unless I feel like my life is threatened, and I felt like my life was threatened," Pate explained to 8 News Now. "Not only was my life threatened, but my son’s life was threatened."
She specifically requested that officers dispatched to the Parkside Villa Apartment Homes avoid using lethal force, describing Baker as "very agitated" according to Local 12 reports. The situation deteriorated rapidly when Baker fired shots in the apartment complex parking lot around 1am before retreating inside, as confirmed by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
The Fatal Confrontation
Police statements indicate that Baker emerged from the apartment holding three-year-old Kentre in his arms with a gun pointed at the boy's head, though Pate maintains Baker had left the firearm indoors. Officers reported that Baker ignored repeated commands to stand down peacefully as he approached them.
"I watched their last moments," Pate told the Las Vegas Review-Journal with devastating clarity. "And my whole family was taken from me in an instant." Police opened fire during the confrontation, resulting in both Baker and young Kentre being fatally wounded. Baker died at the scene, while Kentre was transported to University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
Conflicting Accounts of Responsibility
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has alleged that Baker pulled the trigger on his own son during the incident. However, Pate firmly contradicts this official version, claiming that both her son and his father were killed by police gunfire. She expressed particular distress about being held in a police car throughout the entire ordeal, prevented from comforting her son.
"They are trying to play damage control," Pate told the Review-Journal regarding the police department's handling of the shooting. "But they will pay for killing my son." She further believes that Kentre died in the parking lot before paramedics could reach him, adding to her anguish about the response timeline.
Demand for Transparency and Accountability
Pate has formally requested body camera footage of the incident, telling KSNV, "I know what I saw." The two officers involved in the shooting have been identified as Jonathon Lo, 39, who joined the force in 2019, and Damon O'Donnell, 26, who began his service in 2024. Both officers have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the LVMPD's internal investigation.
This tragic case highlights the devastating consequences of domestic disputes escalating into police interventions and raises serious questions about use-of-force protocols when children are involved. The conflicting narratives between family testimony and official police accounts underscore the critical importance of body camera evidence in establishing what transpired during these tense, life-and-death situations.
