Man attacks girlfriend, takes baby, drops child off at store, Philly police say
Police arrested a man accused of attacking his girlfriend, taking her baby from her home and then leaving the child with a stranger at a Philadelphia corner store.
The incident unfolded on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, around 1:15 p.m. Police said the unidentified man physically assaulted his girlfriend who he was living with inside a home along the 4700 block of Nelson Street. The man then removed his girlfriend’s 11-month-old child from the home, police said.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.
Police said the man took the baby — who wasn’t wearing clothes and only wrapped in a blanket — outside during Friday’s frigid temperatures.
Surveillance video shows the man entering a corner store along the 1400 block of Luzerne Street and giving the baby to a woman inside before leaving the area. Witnesses inside the store said the man claimed the baby’s mother was using narcotics and that he would return to pick the child up. They also said the man claimed the baby was his son even though police confirmed he is not the child’s biological father.
“He said that that was his son and he just said that he was going back to the premises where he was at to get his money and cards or something like that and he was coming back for the baby. And I was like ‘OK.’ And then we were just sitting around waiting,” Justine Madira, a witness inside the store, told NBC10. “And he didn’t come back.”
Employees told NBC10 the baby was with them inside the store for about a half hour before police arrived.
The man was later arrested by police about a block away from the store along the 3900 block of L Street. The suspect’s girlfriend was taken to the hospital where she was treated for facial and throat injuries. The woman’s baby was also taken to the hospital for an evaluation but did not have any visible injuries, police said.
Police have not yet released the suspect’s identity or the charges he’ll face. The Special Victims Unit continues to investigate.
