A Pennsylvania woman is currently in custody after allegedly firing shots at a couple and their infant son, hitting the child in the leg. The woman, identified as 28-year-old Dominique Billips, was arrested by Philadelphia police on charges of aggravated assault.
The incident was captured on surveillance video, which was released by the police on YouTube in an attempt to identify the shooter. The footage shows a woman, later identified as Billips, approaching the couple and firing two shots. The father flees the scene, leaving the mother and their 7-month-old baby in a stroller. The shooter then walks past the mother and stroller, firing another shot at close range.
The mother can be heard screaming, “My baby!” to which Billips allegedly responded with a derogatory comment before walking away. The shots missed the parents but hit the baby in the leg. The incident took place on Thursday on Meridian Street in northeast Philadelphia.
According to the police, a good Samaritan rushed the baby to the hospital. The baby is currently in stable condition. The individual who took the baby to the hospital spoke to local media, expressing shock and concern over the incident. He described the parents’ fear of being arrested due to outstanding warrants, which led him to take the baby to the hospital himself.
Philadelphia police Lt. Dennis Rosenbaum revealed in an interview that it took an hour to locate the parents, who had fled the scene due to fear of arrest. Rosenbaum also shared that the incident appears to be related to a $100 drug debt. He expressed relief that the mother, who is also a minor, was not hit by the gunfire, but lamented the fact that the baby was injured.
Billips is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges on Monday.