Woman arrested in connection with savage shooting of baby in stroller
A woman has been arrested in connection with the horrific shooting of a baby in a stroller in northeast Philadelphia.
On Thursday evening, a suspect opened fire on a couple walking their 7-month-old son along the 4000 block of Meridian Street in the Holmesburg section of the city, as Blaze News previously reported. The shooting prompted the parents to run while the suspect walked away, video released by the Philadelphia Police Department showed.
'You knew they had a stroller. What makes you walk up to someone with a stroller and shoot them?'
One bullet struck the infant in the leg. Reports indicate that a neighbor took the boy to Nazareth Hospital in a private vehicle before officials transferred him to a trauma center at Jefferson Torresdale and then to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for further treatment. The boy remains in stable condition.
Police have also spoken with the parents, who apparently hid for about an hour following the shooting on account of some "outstanding warrants," according to Lieutenant Denis Rosenbaum of the Philadelphia Police Department. Those warrants are believed to be for nonviolent offenses.
The mother of the child is a juvenile, Rosenbaum confirmed.
On Friday, police arrested 28-year-old Dominique Billips in connection with the shooting after an officer from a different squad recognized her from the police video. Tips from the public also were helpful, according to a police press release shared with Blaze News. The charges against Billips include aggravated assault and violation of the Uniform Firearms Act.
For now, cops believe a $100 narcotics debt may have been the motive for the shooting.
"Luckily, [the suspect] missed. A 7-month-old baby might not remember that, but that story is always going to be there," Rosenbaum said. "You knew they had a stroller. What makes you walk up to someone with a stroller and shoot them?"
Two years ago, Billips reportedly was the victim of a shooting that took place just a few blocks away from where Thursday's shooting occurred.
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