PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Police say the man who entered a home in Juniata Park on Friday afternoon, assaulted his girlfriend, and took her child is now in custody.
It all unfolded around 1:15 p.m. on Neilson Street near Piccoli Playground. Police said the man assaulted his live-in girlfriend, then took her 11-month-old baby from her. It was wearing no clothes and had nothing but a blanket on.
According to our newsgathering partners at NBC10, a witness cited the man saying the baby he took was his son. Police confirmed the man was not the baby’s biological father.
He then went two blocks south to Luzerne Street, entered a corner store and left the baby with an unknown person.
“...And he just said he was going back to the premises where he was at to go get his money and cards — or something like that — and he was coming back for the baby,” the witness told NBC10. “And I was like 'OK.' And then we were just sitting around waiting, and he didn’t come back.”
Officers later arrested him about a block from the corner store, inside a house along L Street.
The girlfriend was taken to a hospital where she was treated for injuries to her face and throat. The baby was taken to St. Christopher's Hospital with no visible injuries.