A seven-month-old baby was shot and left bleeding after a gunman opened fire on his parents, causing them to flee.
The boy was being pushed in a stroller by his parents on Meridian Street in Holmesburg, Philadelphia at 5:51 p.m. on Thursday.
CCTV footage showed a woman suddenly approaching them, shooting at the couple and then running away after one of the bullets hit the baby in the leg.
The boy’s father immediately ran away when the gunman fired twice in his direction, while the mother stayed with the baby in the stroller.
CCTV showed a woman (in the dark top) suddenly approaching them, shooting at the couple and then running away after one of the bullets hit the baby in the leg. The baby’s father had already fled by this point
The boy’s father immediately ran away (far right) while the shooter (far left) fired twice in his direction, while the mother stayed with the baby in the stroller
The shooter walked past the mother and child, then casually turned and fired from close range past the mother.
The mother let out a bloodcurdling scream and shouted, “my baby,” to which the gunman callously responded, “F**k your baby, b***h,” and walked away.
When police arrived on the scene, the parents were not present and the baby was taken to the hospital by a neighbor.
Neither parent was injured and it is believed they left because there was a warrant out for their arrest and they were not found until an hour later.
The father was later arrested by police and both parents are being questioned by police. They do not live in Holmesburg and it was unclear why they were there.
Police are hunting for the shooter, who was captured on camera but has not yet been identified. Detectives do not yet know the motive for the shooting.
The father was later arrested by police and both parents are being questioned by police
Police found two empty shells from a semi-automatic weapon
The neighbor who came to the baby’s aid described how the mother handed him the child and how he drove her in his car to the hospital in Nazareth.
“When I found out the baby was seven months old and both parents said they had a warrant. They got out of the car and I took the baby,” he told NBC,
“I just felt like I had to protect this child. It was overwhelming. It was scary. This person came to me and didn’t care, didn’t have any remorse, and just shot and walked away like nothing happened.”
Police later took the baby to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, where he is in stable condition.
Detective Chief Inspector Scott Small said police found two spent shell casings from a semi-automatic weapon.
“You see what appears to be a male, possibly a female, with long hair, possibly dreadlocks, wearing a dark T-shirt and light blue jeans, and he’s shooting in the direction of the mother and the father,” he said of the footage of the shooting.