NEAR FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) – Authorities have arrested a man accused of shooting a 1-year-old boy after he allegedly began firing at his ex-girlfriend’s car near Fort Lauderdale.

Jeffrey Simmons, 36, is back in jail after he allegedly shot the baby. Although he is only 36 years old, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said he is a nine-time convicted felon.

“Not only is he violent, but he shot into a car with three young children in there,” BSO spokesperson Miranda Grossman said. “Two of them were 1 years old, and one of them was an 8-year-old.”

The incident began at a KFC along Sunrise Boulevard at around 9 p.m., Sunday. According to BSO, Simmons saw his ex-girlfriend, who was there with three children.

“When they left the restaurant and were driving on West Sunrise Boulevard, the arrestee, Simmons, started shooting at the vehicle,” Grossman said.

He chased the woman down Northwest 27th Avenue, firing a gun at her car several times and then, once they arrived at a parking lot near Broward Boulevard, the man fired twice, hitting the 1-year-old child.

“She ended up in the Marshalls parking lot, probably looking for help because she was very scared at this point, and when they both got to the Marshalls plaza, he opened fire again at her car,” Grossman said. “At that point, that’s when the child was struck.”

Simmons soon fled the scene, and the child was taken to a local hospital. The child has since undergone surgery and is expected to survive.

“Just a few days later, around 1 a.m. on Wednesday, BSO and Fort Lauderdale PD were able to locate Simmons,” Grossman said. “They took him into custody without incident.”

Simmons would appear before a judge in bond court on Wednesday, where he was denied bond.

“It’s fortunate that none of the other children were hit, that the mother was not hit and that the child that was hit, it was not fatal,” Grossman said.

The 36-year-old remains at the Broward County Jail facing a long list of charges.

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