Diego Alfredo Longoria, 23, faces charges of injury to a child, assault by strangulation, and making a terroristic threat after allegedly choking his infant son in Brownsville, Texas. The incident occurred last week amid a dispute with the child's mother. The boy suffered a fractured collarbone and is recovering in hospital.
The incident took place at a residence on Tulane Avenue in north Brownsville, a city along the U.S.-Mexico border. Police responded to a 911 call from the child's grandmother, who reported that Longoria was hurting the baby and later noted a large bruise on the boy's face as Longoria tried to leave the scene, according to a criminal complaint obtained by local affiliates KVEO and KGBT, known as ValleyCentral. Officers separated the adults upon arrival. Longoria told police he and the mother had argued over 'stupid things.' The grandmother cited a history of verbal altercations and refused to hand the child back, deeming it 'not safe for the baby to go with him.' She described Longoria banging on car windows after following them outside. The mother explained the argument began while she fed the 3-month-old; Longoria said he would 'intentionally scare him,' then grabbed the boy, thrusting him aggressively up and down, causing him to cry. When she intervened, Longoria went outside with the infant, pushed her back, and threatened to kill her if she did not return inside. She later heard the baby's cries turn to gasps and found Longoria choking the child with his right hand while holding him with his left arm. He pushed her away again, threatening to kill both, and later beat her until she lost count of the blows before choking her for about 10 seconds. The child sustained a fracture to his right collarbone, possibly from strangulation pressure, and is recuperating at Driscoll Hospital in Corpus Christi. Longoria is detained in Brownsville city jail, with charges forwarded to the Cameron County District Attorney's Office.