Suspect In Stabbing Of Baby, Woman In Center City Arrested: Police

PHILADELPHIA, PA — Philadelphia Police have a suspect in custody after two apparently random stabbings in Center City on Saturday, one which injured a one-year-old boy.

A couple was walking with their twin babies around noon when a woman ran up to them and tried to stab both children with a knife, said Captain Frank Banford with the Central Detectives Division.

She fled after injuring one baby on both arms and the father chased her, Banford said.

"It looked like (she) just rushed up to them, nothing was said, it was completely random," he said.

Officials have detained a person of interest, police confirmed to Patch.

Police said the perpetrator is also responsible for stabbing another woman in the hand and chest earlier Saturday morning, also in Center City. Officials said both incidents appeared to be random — with the suspect carrying a "long knife" and running up to the victims.

The woman police suspected to be involved is also possibly connected to an aggravated assault case in New York City, said Banford.

Officials said the first stabbing took place around 8 a.m. in the 1300 block of Chancellor Street, where the suspect stabbed a 24-year-old woman in the chest and left finger. First responders transported the victim to Jefferson University Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition.

The attack on the baby happened place several blocks south of Rittenhouse Square Park, and near Temple Beth Zion Beth Israel; the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia released a statement saying none of the people involved were connected to or involved with the synagogue in any way.

"While this is an ongoing investigation, all reports indicate that it was not an antisemitic attack, but unfortunately part of the tragic crimes we sometimes see in the city landscape," the statement said. "It is believed that the individual involved experienced a mental health crisis."

Banford said the suspect was seen with two different-colored bags at the attacks — and that when the baby's father chased her, she dropped the one she was carrying and investigators took it into evidence.

Banford said that these kinds of random attacks are not "an everyday occurrence" and that residents should not be overly concerned, but advised people to always be cautious and aware of their surroundings.