A father has been arrested after he beat his infant son after the “cranky” child was crying, police said.
Mitchell Kirk Hatcher, 32, of Fort Mill was charged with felony unlawful neglect of a child or helpless person, said Trent Faris, spokesperson the York County Sheriff’s office.
Deputies were called Saturday afternoon to Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill after the child’s mother took the infant to the hospital after noticing bruises on the child, according to a sheriff’s office report. The mother told police the 3-month-old baby had been in Hatcher’s care.
The child’s mother told officers Hatcher told her he “had a rage” during the incident, according to the report.
Hatcher told police he was upset because the child had been “very cranky” and had been crying, deputies said.
S.C. Department of Social Services was notified and is conducting a parallel investigation.
The extent of any injuries to the child is unclear, Faris said.
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