A 7-month-old baby is recovering in the hospital after being shot in the leg Thursday, according to a Philadelphia Police Department spokesperson.
NBC10 reports that the shooting occurred just before 6 p.m. on the 4000 block of Meridian Street in the Holmesburg neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told NBC10 that the infant was with his parents when a shooter approached and opened fire. Preliminary investigations indicated that the shooter targeted the parents, but the baby was struck instead. The parents were not injured.
DailyMail reports that the shooter walked past the mother and child, then turned back and fired past the mother from point-blank range.
The mother screamed, “My baby,” to which the shooter responded, “F*k your baby, b*h,” and walked away.
A neighbor rushed the baby to the hospital. The parents, who were not injured, left the scene due to outstanding warrants. Police found them around an hour later.
“When I find out the baby was 7 months and both parents said they have warrants. They got out the car and I took the baby. I just felt like I had to protect this child. It was overwhelming. It was scary. This person came up and didn’t care with no remorse and just fired and walked away like nothing happened,” a witness told NB10.
The shooter hasn’t been identified, and police said the motive is unknown.
Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo via Philadelphia PD]
