Adrian Peterson's 2-year-old son is currently in critical condition in a South Dakota hospital … after he was allegedly severely beaten by the man dating the mother of his child, TMZ has learned.
The Minnesota Vikings running back immediately left his team to be with his son.
Officials tell us they've arrested the suspect, 27-year-old Joseph Patterson … who's been charged with aggravated felony assault and battery of an infant.
Who the hell does this? How can you do this?
Peterson—who watched his brother be killed by a drunk driver when he was seven, and his half-brother murdered the night before his NFL scouting combine—just had his two-year-old son nearly be killed by a grown man. The poor kid was found unresponsive. I… just can't. Jesus.
UPDATE: Minneapolis' City Pages reports that it's not actually Peterson's child. “Sources both in the Twin Cities and in South Dakota are telling us that the injured child is not actually Adrian Peterson's son. One source has identified the injured child by name. Both the Sioux Falls police and AP himself will reportedly have something to say about what's going on today, so we'll update again when we know more.”
So: We're done writing until AP says something on the matter.
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