Adrian Peterson’s Son Dies After Abuse [Breaking]

Vikings star Adrian Peterson’s son has died of injuries sustained after he was allegedly beaten by the boyfriend of his mother.

Earlier today, the son of Adrian Peterson, who was just two years old, was removed from life support after he suffered severe injury in the course of the alleged beating — allegedly at the hands of his mother’s boyfriend, Robert Joseph Patterson.

Patterson, 27, is said to have a history of domestic violence charges and a rap sheet. Wednesday night, Peterson’s son was attended to after a 911 call — but the events leading up to the incident were not reported.

According to TMZ, Adrian Peterson’s son (whose name was not officially released) never regained consciousness after he was hospitalized. The site reports:

“As we reported, the mother of the child has decided to donate the child’s organs to people in need… The boy was on life support since 5:30 PM Thursday… but his condition never improved… so family members made the decision to take the child off the ventilator… Sources tell TMZ.. Adrian was informed about the situation before the news went public.”

Reports indicate that Patterson was charged following Peterson’s son’s hospitalization, and that the charges in Sioux Falls, South Dakota were for assault and battery of an infant. After the little boy passed away, it became likely that those charges would be escalated to murder, but as of yet, that has not happened.

Some reports indicate that the 911 call about Adrian Peterson’s son reported a “choking,” but that doctors later determined the life-threatening and ultimately fatal injuries were “consistent with abuse.”

So sad to hear that Adrian Peterson's son has passed away, RIP. Fly high little fella pic.twitter.com/21asZcU7zr

— kendall (@K_Delkster) October 11, 2013

USAToday quotes a local police spokesman, who updated press on Patterson and what cops believe occurred before the fatal beating. Police spokesman Sam Clemens said:

“As officers and first responders got there, they found child was unresponsive and he was taken to the hospital… So they ended up calling police about that or letting them know. We had detectives talk to quite a few people to try to figure out what happened. What they ended up finding was that when the injuries happened there was one person with that child, and that person was Joseph Patterson.”

He added:

“The injuries they found were head injuries… It was obvious to medical staff that abuse had taken place and that those injuries weren’t accidental.”

Before the horrible news was reported, Peterson had intended to continue with his plans to play Sunday. He said earlier:

“I’ll be ready to roll, focused… I will be playing Sunday, without a doubt.”

However, press say Peterson was visibly subdued and saddened despite his commitment to his work.

Adrian Peterson has not commented on the sad news of his toddler son’s death.