Man accused of fatally shooting infant son in Tucson remains hospitalized

A man accused of shooting his 9-month-old baby to death in Tucson remains hospitalized with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, a judge was told Thursday.

Gabriel Huerta initial appearance in court has been rescheduled several times since the Tuesday evening shooting.

It is expected he will have his hearing via video from the hospital if he is not released by Friday morning. Huerta's defense attorney, however, was concerned Huerta might be too sedated to appear in court. When he visited Huerta on Wednesday, he was in stable condition by still unresponsive, his attorney said.

Authorities were called about 5 p.m. Tuesday to a home in the 5500 block of North Shannon Road by Huerta's family. They reported Huerta was making suicidal statements before leaving in a red Ford Fusion with his infant son.

Deputies began searching the area and learned that Huerta was potentially armed and had made additional statements about wanting to hurt himself and the baby, a Pima County Sheriff's Department news release said.

Huerta's vehicle was located near Himmel Park in midtown Tucson. Despite being given several commands by deputies, Huerta got out of the car and ran into a nearby alley, deputies said. Moments later, gunshots were heard.

Huerta had shot himself and the child had been shot multiple times, the news release said.

Both were taken to a hospital where the baby died. Huerta was admitted in critical condition.

A search of Pima County Superior Court records showed no adult criminal or domestic violence-related history in Huerta's past.