Franklin County Sheriff Pat Green told ABC11 Friday that it all began when 25-year-old Mario Sims tried to get to his 10-month-old son around 4:30 a.m. at his estranged girlfriend's home on Malcolm Neal Path.
Green said Sims fired a shotgun in the air outside the home and then kicked in the front door.
The estranged girlfriend - 28-year-old Nakera Reed - barricaded herself in a bedroom with her three children.
"He came back there and tried to kick the door in at the bedroom. She could hear him fumbling with the shotgun, so she managed to get the kids and get out of there. She left the 10-month-old child there which he was the father of," said Sheriff Green.
"He wanted the child. He said 'If you don't give me my child, I'm going to kill you," said Green.
Reed got out a back door with her other children aged 7 and 9 and called 911.
"Our SWAT team went there, and we could see the 10-month-old lying on the floor. We weren't sure if the child was sleeping or had been hurt," said Green.
Once inside, officers found the baby was fine, but Sims had fled into the woods. A manhunt began. And neighbors were woken by deputies.
"I immediately started getting concerned, so they told me you might want to go back inside," said neighbor James Macklin.
"I have a camera system so I was watching my cameras to see what was going on," said Macklin. "While watching the cameras, I observed the suspect coming out of the horse barn."
Macklin told deputies where Sims was and watched as he was arrested.
"I'm glad they caught the guy," he said.
Sims is facing a slew of charges including communicating threats and parental abduction.
Green says they have been to the house about 10 times in the last year for domestic disputes.
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