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Florida mom, fiancé arrested after 2-year-old boy found shot to death: Police

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Published  February 24, 2025 3:15pm EST
Florida
FOX 13 News

The Brief

    • A 2-year-old boy is dead, and his mother and her fiancé are facing charges.
    • Police said the child died from a gunshot wound to the head.
    • According to the Port St. Lucie Police Department, Quintenn Wesley owned the 9 mm handgun believed to be used in the shooting, and he kept two handguns unsecured in the master bedroom where the boy was shot.

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - A 2-year-old Florida boy is dead, and his mother and her fiancé are facing charges after police say the child was shot and killed inside a Port St. Lucie home. 

The backstory:

According to the Port St. Lucie Police Department, officers were called to a home in the 5700 block of NW Zenith Dr. about a child being shot in the head. 

Police arriving at the home said they found a 2-year-old boy on the bed in the master bedroom with a gunshot wound to the head. 

He was taken to an area hospital where he was later pronounced dead. 

READ: Grady Judd, Florida sheriffs crack down on illegal immigration: ‘The game has changed’

Big picture view:

According to PSLPD, five adults and two children were home when the shooting took place. 

Police say the boy was in the master bedroom with his 24-year-old mother, Natalie Cruz.

The mother’s 25-year-old fiancée, Quintenn Wesley, his sister, his father and his grandmother were in other areas of the home along with an infant child. 

According to police, Cruz was on the bed when she heard a gunshot. When she looked over, police said she saw the 2-year-old child with a gunshot wound to the head and a handgun next to him.

Courtesy: Port St. Lucie Police Department.

Courtesy: Port St. Lucie Police Department. 

Investigators said Wesley owned the 9 mm handgun believed to be used, and he kept two handguns unsecured in the master bedroom.

A search warrant was secured for the residence and both handguns were seized as evidence along with a spent shell casing and the projectile, according to PSLPD.

Dig deeper:

While investigating, officers said they learned Cruz was a convicted felon in Florida. 

READ: Grady Judd: Teens shoot, kill suspected marijuana dealer after ordering weed on an app

Arrest warrants were issued for Cruz and Wesley, and they were taken into custody at a Dollar General parking lot. 

Cruz was charged with one count of possession of a firearm or ammo by a convicted felon and one count of culpable negligence for allowing a minor access to a firearm resulting in injury or death.

Wesley was charged with one count of culpable negligence – allowing a minor access to a firearm resulting in injury or death.

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The Source: This story was written with information posted by the Port St. Lucie Polcie Department. 

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