Philadelphia police reported that the shocking shooting of a 7-month-old baby captured on camera was the result of a mere $100 drug debt.
Dominique Billips, 28, was apprehended a day after a video showed a woman firing at the infant and his parents outside a residence, yelling, âFâk your baby, bitch!â while the teenage mother screamed in terror.
âSometimes the things we see are mind-boggling,â stated Lt. Dennis Rosenbaum during a press conference, as reported by USA Today.
âYou knew they had a stroller, what makes you walk up to someone with a stroller and shoot them?â Rosenbaum questioned the motive behind the âvery disturbingâ attack.
When officers arrived to investigate the shooting on Thursday, the victims had already left.
It was only when the family arrived at a local hospital that officers discovered a baby had been shot in the leg, with the violent act believed to have been triggered by a $100 ânarcotics debt,â according to the police spokesperson.
âThe mother and father… left the location because of fear from police due to outstanding warrants,â Rosenbaum explained.
The babyâs father was allegedly the intended target of the shooter, with the mother and baby inadvertently caught up in the incident, Rosenbaum added.
âYou see in that video, she really points the gun at the mother of the baby, whoâs also a juvenile, and fires. Luckily, she missed,â Rosenbaum described.
âA 7-month-old baby isnât going to remember that, but itâs always going to be out there. That storyâs always going to be out there,â Rosenbaum remarked regarding the baby, who has since been discharged from the hospital.
Billips, who was identified as a previous shooting victim, was arrested without incident on Friday and charged with aggravated assault and firearm offenses.