A family gathering turned tragic after a man was arrested for stabbing his 6-year-old son. The family had gathered at a Palm River apartment complex for a New Year’s celebration.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, around 11:30 p.m., Friday, the family was at 11726 S. 58th Street, for the celebration. The family was in the parking lot lighting fireworks. When the family went inside, Xavier Dequan Thomas, Sr., 23, allegedly took his son, Xavier Thomas, Jr., 6, to a nearby playground.
About twenty minutes later, the family discovered that the two were missing and began looking for them. The father reappeared at the apartment, but without the child.
Police said when family members started asking questions about the child, Thomas ran away without answering them. One of the family members contacted the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in reference to the missing child. However, as deputies arrived at the scene, the child appeared in the parking lot of the complex. He was covered in blood and was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital.
He had been stabbed more than twenty times in his back, chest, neck and arm. None of the wounds appeared to be life-threatening, police said.
[private]Police located Thomas walking on 50th Street near 1-4, but did not give a motive for the attack.
The child’s mother, who police did not identify, was not at the party, police said.
Ms. Terenesha Thomas said her family is devastated by what happened. “I’m hurt on both ends. I’ve lost my brother and my nephew is hurt.”
Ms. Thomas said, “I saw my nephew staggering down the street and drenched in blood. I ran to him and asked him who did that to him and he said, ‘my daddy, my daddy. I just held him in my arms.”
She stated that Thomas first began having problems after witnessing his best friend’s murder. “He would just laugh, talk to himself, and pace. He said he was talking to the dead boy’s spirit. He’s been in and out of MHC (Mental Health Center). He had just been released a week before this happened.
“We are all just trying to stay strong for one another. I just hope he (Thomas) finds peace with God within himself and gets the help he really needs.”
When asked about her nephew’s condition, Ms. Thomas said, “He’s in stable condition. He’s a strong little boy and we’re just trying to stay strong.”
Stabber Witnesses
Murder
Ms. Thomas said her brother first began talking to the spirit of a dead man after a shooting in 2003.
On December 9, 2003, a shooting involving several East Tampa men took place. The young men were at N. 32nd Street and E. Ellicott when someone fired three shots at the pickup truck. Ramon Filer, 19, was a passenger in the truck. Filer was hit in the head by one of the bullets and died. Thomas was listed as a witness in that incident. Thomas was 16 years old at the time of the shooting.
No Bond
Thomas was taken to the Hillsborough County Jail and charged with attempted murder. He appeared before a Hillsborough County judge on Sunday, but was denied bond.[/private]
