PHOENIX — Editor's note: This article was published on March 3, 2020.
A suspect who brutally assaulted his 4-year-old son and 51-year-old mother with a guitar at a home in a northern Arizona town was shot and killed by officers last week, police announced Monday.
The Clarkdale Police Department said the suspect, 33-year-old Joshua David Hernandez Lord, struck his son in the head, causing numerous skull fractures. The boy later died of his injuries.
Lord also allegedly struck his 51-year-old mother in the head, fracturing her skull as well during the Feb. 28 incident.
Clarkdale Officer Carlos Godina responded to the scene for a call of an injured person. He attempted to de-escalate the situation multiple times and deployed his Taser at one point, which did not work.
Lord carried the guitar used to assault his son and mother during the encounter. At one point, he grabbed a knife and used it to threaten the officer.
"Officer Godina continued his attempts to deescalate the situation, all while keeping the suspect in the residence and protecting the injured boy," police said Monday.
Lord eventually "aggressed" Godina, forcing him to use lethal force. Lord was pronounced dead at the scene.
“The officer found that he was with an individual who was possibly having a psychotic episode. That’s a guess," Clarkdale Police Chief Randy Taylor said.
“We’re just a quiet little community. And when something like this happens, boy it hits hard,” a neighbor walking her dog in the area told Team 12's Matt Yurus.
There is going to be a meeting at Jerome Clark School from 6 p.m. to 8p.m. Thursday.
Police said the meeting at the Clarkdale-Jerome school will “provide a platform for information sharing, education of trauma and resiliency, and available resources within the community.”
