Texas father arrested after infant daughter drank gasoline

A Texas father who police say gave his 4-month-old baby gasoline to drink in an alleged attempt to kill her was being held without bond Tuesday in connection with the case.
Edgar James Bridgemon, 24, was arrested over the weekend on one count of attempted capital murder against his infant daughter, police in Paris, about 100 miles northeast of Dallas, said Tuesday.
The Paris Police Department reported that they responded to a neighborhood just east of downtown on Saturday to assist Paris Emergency Services after receiving information that a 4-month-old girl’s father “had intentionally given the infant gasoline to drink.”
At the scene, officers saw a man later identified as Bridgemon fleeing the scene on foot, according to a news release issued by the department on Monday.
An officer pursued Bridgemon, who police say was taken into custody about a block away from where officers initially responded to the scene.
“Bridgemon admitted to having given the infant gasoline to drink with the intention of ending the child’s life,” police Capt. Terry Bull said in a statement.
Bridgemon was arrested at the scene on an attempted capital murder charge and booked into the Lamar County Jail, where he remained held on $255,000 bond Tuesday, officials said.
According to a preliminary investigation, the mother is the custodian of the baby girl and “had allowed the suspect to watch (the) child briefly” when the reported crime took place, Bull told USA TODAY on Tuesday.
It was not immediately known whether Bridgemon had obtained an attorney. Online Lamar County court records show he had not yet been formally charged with the felony crime as of Tuesday.
Under Texas law, attempted capital murder is a first-degree felony, which carries a sentence of between five years to life in prison.
Paramedics took the infant to a local hospital and later transferred her to another facility in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for additional care.
“The baby is still at the Dallas hospital and, as of of early today was improving,” Bull said Tuesday.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Paris police.
The case remained under investigation on Tuesday.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.