A Florida father is accused of stabbing his six-year-old son more than 20 times as they watched New Year’s Eve fireworks near their Tampa home.
Authorities say twenty-three year old Xavier Dequan Thomas Sr. was watching fireworks with his family, when he took his son, Xavier Jr., aside to an apartment complex and stabbed him several times.

Reports say he then threw the bloody child over a 6-foot fence into a wooded area, leaving him to die, while returning to the fireworks as if nothing had happened.

Thomas’ 24-year-old sister, Terenesha, later told police that her brother, who suffers from a mental illness, was watching fireworks with the rest of the family when he asked to spend some time alone with his son.
Terenesah Thomas said her brother “seemed really sincere” and his put his arm around his son and took him for a walk.

She said about 30 minutes had passed since seeing her brother and nephew, so she started walking toward the playground to look for them.

Thomas said she saw her brother walking back to the group without his son and when she asked where her nephew was he said, “I gotta go, I gotta go,” and ran off. Teerensah Thomas said she began to scream her nephew’s name as she called 911.

She said while law enforcement officers were searching for her nephew by air and ground, she saw her nephew staggering from the woods drenched in blood. She said when she asked him who had hurt him and he replied, “My dad,” and when she asked him with what, he replied, “A knife.”

Xavier Jr. was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital.  An update on his condition was not available at press time.
Thomas’ grandmother, Yvonne Mickles, said her grandson has had problems since witnessing two murders in 2004. She said one of the incidents involved a best friend who died in his arms after being shot in the head.

Mickles said Thomas, who has been institutional at least five times; sometimes talk to his dead friend.
Xavier Thomas Sr., who has been arrested 13 times since the age of 14, was later arrested near I-94.