A landlord and his 22-month-old son are dead after an unusual incident in New Providence that involved the man attacking his tenants in the middle of the night and running from officers when they responded to the scene, police said.

According to Chief Superintendent Michael Johnson, around 12:30 a.m. yesterday, officers responded to reports that two men were fighting on Family Street, off Soldier Road.

Police said one was a tenant, who was found in the nude.

"On their arrival, they met a male who gave them some information and told them that he was being attacked by his landlord," Johnson told reporters at the Criminal Investigations Department yesterday afternoon.

"When the officers went to the area that he directed them to, they met a male on the inside of his apartment.

"As they were about to confront him, he barricaded himself into a bedroom. As they were about to breach that bedroom, they heard glass being broken on the outside.

"When they went on the outside of the apartment building, they met this male jumping through a window.

"The officers attempted to subdue him. They had to chase him a short distance. He jumped a fence and went into a garbage bin.

"They had to take him out of that garbage bin and a struggle ensued between the officers and this male as they were making attempts to subdue him.

"Finally, they were able to arrest him. He was placed in handcuffs and brought back to the yard where EMS was contacted.

"They were then alerted to another bedroom inside of that apartment building. When they went inside that bedroom, they met the body of a male child lying on his back on a mattress.

"He appeared to be unresponsive. They attempted CPR, however, they waited on EMS personnel to come to the aid of that child.

"They took that child inside of the ambulance where they were trying to resuscitate him.

"He was eventually taken from that scene and he was brought in dead. The male who was restrained by the officers was also checked by EMS personnel and he had no signs of life."

Johnson said the child was identified by his mother as Anwar Miller.

The man was identified as 42-year-old Jermaine Miller by his wife.

His wife is not Anwar's mother.

Johnson said the child had no visible wound but, "there was some discoloration of the skin."

He added that the man had minor abrasions that police believe are from jumping through the window because the glass was broken.

When The Nassau Guardian visited the scene of the incident later yesterday morning, the occupants of the apartment could be seen packing their belongings and moving out.

The same confusion about the incident that many expressed on social media was matched by witnesses on the scene.

One of the tenants showed The Nassau Guardian bruises he said were caused as he fought off his landlord. He said the landlord ripped his clothes off during the struggle.

Another individual identified as a tenant posted on Facebook that the ordeal was "the most horrible experience anyone could ever have".

That witness described being woken up out of her sleep to find her landlord in her apartment with a small child. The landlord did not reside at the apartment complex, according to tenants.

"He seems like he was on something after they arrested him; he just start freaking out and die on the spot," the witness said.

When asked whether the man had drugs in his system, Johnson said, "We'll have to wait on the autopsy. I'm not sure of his mental capacity, but again, that is a part of our investigation that we will be checking into all of that. Then again, I say we have to wait on the post mortem to determine the exact cause of his death along with the child.

"It's early in the investigation. I've given you the facts thus far, although there's some sensitive information that I wish not to disclose, but we are progressing in the investigation very efficiently. At the end of this investigation, you [will] be abreast as to what our findings are."

He also said, "I ask persons, parents and all clear-minded, thinking Bahamians to ensure that children are protected.

"Our children are innocent and we must protect them at all costs. It is very concerning to the police and I'm sure to members of the public when we have any incident involving children.

"And so, I again appeal to persons, even if these persons are relatives of your children and you're feeling uneasy with having those children to be in the company of those relatives, you must at all costs protect the child."

Christian Council President Bishop Delton Fernander said the incident was "another horrific day in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas".

"As a father, as a pastor, and one who lives in these communities, we are appealing to the public at large to do your very best to intervene when it appears that those around you are not acting in the fashions that are normal," Fernander said.

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