Prosecutor: Boy Threatened Baby Before

A 6-year-old boy charged with attempted murder in the savage beating of a 1-month-old baby was ordered to remain in custody Friday after a prosecutor said he had threatened the infant before.

“This young man is very angry … he should not be released, period,” Deputy District Attorney Harold Jewett told Juvenile Court Referee Stephen Easton.

The baby remained in critical condition Friday and likely will have permanent brain damage, doctors said.

The 6-year-old boy is believed to be the youngest person ever charged with attempted murder in the United States. Two other boys, age 8, were charged with burglary in the attack.

Jewett said the 6-year-old boy had previously gone to the apartment in Richmond and had “expressed the belief the family there had been harassing him, looked at him the wrong way and he had to kill the baby.”