Brunswick, Georgia — Two teenage suspects were taken into custody Friday in Georgia after authorities investigated the shooting death of a 13-month-old baby who was killed Thursday while sleeping in his stroller.

The suspects are 17 and 14 years old, the first being identified as De’Marquis Elkins, who will be charged as an adult. The name of the 14-year-old is being withheld since he is a juvenile.

The incident occurred early Thursday morning as mother Sherry West was walking home from the post office with her son Antonio, whom she pushed in a stroller.

“A boy approached me and told me he wanted my money, and I told him I didn’t have any money,” West told reporters. “And he said, ‘Give me your money or I’m going to kill you, and I’m going to shoot your baby and kill your baby.’ And I said, ‘I don’t have any money, and don’t kill my baby.'”

One of the teens then tried to grab her purse, but West reiterated that she was not carrying any money. Upon uttering the words, a gunshot rang out, grazing her in the head, just past her ear. The teenager then shot her a second time in the leg.

“I put my arms over my baby and he shoves me,” West explained. “And then he shot my baby right in the head.”

The mother states that she tried to perform CPR on little Antonio, and when police arrived, they too tried to revive the boy, but it was too late.

“I saw his lungs inflating, but he was not breathing and there was no pulse,” she said. “We lost him.”

Antonio’s father, Louis, told reporters that he wished he could have been there to protect his son.

“He was special,” Louis said. “He had the bluest, bluest eyes.”

West stated that the suspects ran when she began crying out for someone to help her.

“I screamed for help — for a neighbor to call police, and he ran off,” she explained. “He got scared that I screamed.”

Police spent the day Thursday investigating the matter and looking for the suspects based on West’s description. Today, the two teenagers were taken into custody.

“The charges will be first degree murder,” New Brunswick Police Chief Tobe Green announced in a press conference today. “We’re still following leads for witnesses, [and] we’re still collecting evidence.”

Green advised that the motive for the crime is also still being investigated.

West says she wants the maximum penalty for the teens.

“If they can use a gun like an adult, then they can be charged like an adult,” she told reporters. “I want to see lethal injection or at least life in prison. This child did nothing to him. He was innocent and helpless.”

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