BATON ROUGE — Baton Rouge Police have arrested a suspect in the shooting of a toddler on New Year's Eve.

Landrick Ruffin Jr. was arrested Thursday morning on six counts of attempted first-degree murder charges, BRPD said in a news release. Ruffin, 27, was arrested after East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's deputies conducted a traffic stop and detained him.

WBRZ previously reported that the two-year-old girl was critically injured around 2:45 p.m. along 79th Street. 

Baton Rouge Police said a woman thought she saw a relative's stolen car near a McDonald's on Harding Boulevard and followed the suspect to 79th Street. That's when the suspect got out and shot at her vehicle, striking her toddler in the head.

The child was then driven to the District 4 Headquarters. From there, emergency officials took the child to the hospital in critical condition. BRPD officials initially said the child died as a result of their injuries, but corrected their statement to say she's in critical condition.

“The events of today are completely unacceptable. As a community, we have a duty to protect all citizens, but especially our children,” Mayor-President Sid Edwards said in a news release. “This child needs our prayers tonight. Wherever you are or whatever you are doing, I ask that you take a moment to pray for this child’s survival and for her family as they deal with this tragedy.”

Ruffin has a prior arrest history that includes possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, resisting, possession with intent to distribute Schedule I narcotics and illegal carrying of weapons, BRPD said.