6-Month-Old Rescued After Being Held Hostage and Shot, Suspect Found Dead Following Police Standoff

A residence in Arizona caught fire during the "hours-long" police standoff with the suspect on Friday, May 17

• A 6-month-old baby boy has been rescued by police after being held hostage alongside his mother in Arizona on May 17

• The infant "sustained multiple gunshot wounds" during the incident, according to the Surprise Police Department

• The suspect was later identified as the baby's father, Todd Christopher Marchetti. The 51-year-old was found dead in the residence, which caught fire during the standoff, after refusing to surrender to police

Police have rescued a 6-month-old baby boy who was shot multiple times while held hostage alongside a woman in Arizona.

The Surprise Police Department was alerted to a woman and infant who were being held hostage in the area of 168th Avenue and Jenan Drive on Friday, May 17, according to a May 18 statement on the police department's Facebook page.

An earlier statement from authorities said the woman had been held hostage inside her residence "by the father of her child" since 3 a.m. local time after he broke into her home.

The woman was eventually able to get away from the suspect and alerted a nearby construction crew, who called the police. "Officers learned the infant was still inside the home with the suspect," the statement read.

"When officers arrived at the residence, they heard multiple rounds of gunfire from inside. A Surprise Police officer fired one round in response toward the residence where the suspect was located, and officers quickly worked to force entry and rescue the infant who sustained multiple gunshot wounds," the statement continued.

The 6-month-old was airlifted to a nearby hospital "in serious condition." According to the second statement from police, the baby is "in critical but stable condition at a local hospital.” "The female victim was treated at the scene for minor injuries and was transported to the hospital to be with her child," the statement added.

The suspect involved was later identified as Todd Christopher Marchetti. According to the statement, the 51-year-old was found dead in the home, which caught fire during the standoff, after refusing to surrender to police.

“Marchetti continually refused to come out of the home and peacefully surrender to police. After an hours-long standoff, the home caught fire,” authorities said, per the statement. “The cause of the fire remains under investigation.”

“Once it was safe for investigators to enter the residence, they discovered the remains of Marchetti with what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head,” the statement added. “The cause of death is still pending the results of the medical examiner's full report.”

The investigation into the incident is ongoing and will be led by the Buckeye Police Department, per the statement.

According to local media outlet AZFamily, a friend of the woman held hostage said she had been trying to get out of a domestic violence situation.

“Evil. I don’t have any other explanation besides he’s evil,” Linda Ogle said of Marchetti as she spoke of her friend Allie and her infant son Jaxson. “There’s a lot of fear. She was really afraid of him.”

“He used an ax to get through one of the windows,” Ogle continued. “He brought duct tape and ropes and different forms of pliers and a couple different butcher knives.”

“She saved both of their lives and I’ve told her that multiple times,” Ogle said. “She said, ‘Oh, well I should have just taken Jaxson out of the house with me,’ and I said if you would have picked that baby up and tried to walk out of that door with him he would have opened fire on both of you and neither of you would be here right now.”

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Speaking on Jaxson's health, Ogle added, “He heard Allie’s voice yesterday and opened his eyes. He wiggles his toes. He grabs my finger.”

The Buckeye Police Department did not respond to PEOPLE's request for further information.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to support Allie and Jaxson. So far, over $119,00 of the $125,000 goal has been raised.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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