Shopping
Telling the difference between a baby doll and an actual real live living and breathing human baby should be fairly easy for pretty much anyone to do. But one many claims it wasn’t that simple. A mother was left horrified as she witnessed a man punch her five-day-old baby in the head while she was out grocery shopping. Truly horrifying! The man claims he thought the child wasn’t real and instead thought she was a toy doll. Now, the mother is so traumatized that she is afraid of taking her daughter out again.
Elsie Duckers was out grocery shopping at a local store called Tesco with her husband, her seven-year-old daughter Libby and her five-day-old newborn, Elsie. But she had no idea what was about to happen to her youngest daughter while the family was in the store. This story continues in the next pages.
Nervous
This had been the first time Duckers had taken her newborn out of the house since she was born, and like any new mom, she was a little anxious about it. Completely understandable. While at the store, Duckers ran into a neighbor who hadn’t yet met the baby.
Admiring the baby
”I was pushing Elsie, then five days old, around in a small Tesco trolley. It was my first trip out with her, so I was a little nervous, but we weren’t far from home,” Duckers told the Daily Mail UK. The neighbor then called over another friend she knew to come see the baby.
Punched
The woman she called over happened to be with her husband and as soon as they were called to see the baby, the woman’s husband rushed over and punched the newborn baby directly in the forehead. Are your jaws on the ground, because we were flabbergasted by this tale!
Stunned
The new mother was left in shock. ”He left her with a huge red mark and we at first were just stunned. He then began denying anything had happened, despite the crying children and visible imprint on Elsie’s face and I just went hysterical, asking what he just did, why he hurt my baby,” said Duckers, as reported by the Daily Mail. We just can’t imagine why you would do this, even if the baby did look like a doll.
Panic
Even her daughter Libby was shocked and she began to panic because she thought the man had killed her baby sister. Immediately, the baby was rushed to the hospital where she was kept under observation for seven hours.
Consequences
Duckers was afraid her daughter would suffer serious consequences due to the fact that she had been hit so hard “The punch was that hard you could hear the connection as this man hit Elsie,” said Duckers, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Trauma
But thankfully, the newborn was able to leave the hospital without any serious injuries. Duckers and her family however, have been left traumatized after the incident. “I just can’t believe it— especially as it was on a five day old baby. It was the first time I’d taken Elsie out since she was born Now I’m just too frightened to take her our again,” said Duckers, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Arrest
The man who punched the baby, claimed he thought she had been a toy doll and not a real baby. He was arrested after police were called right after the incident, where he was held in custody by police.
Assault
It is unclear if the family chose to press charges, but the man faces being charged with assault. ”The baby girl was taken to hospital as a precaution and has since been discharged. A 63 year old was arrested on suspicion of assault and is currently in custody being questioned by officers,” said the Greater Manchester police, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Grateful
While the mother is horrified that this happened to her child, she took to Facebook to post how grateful she was to the staff at the grocery store and for how they dealt with the situation. We are sure they acted as swiftly and as best they could, giving the circumstances.
Thanks
“Thank you so much to Baguley Tesco for all you did tonight (Monday) you were all amazing thank you so much for the way you dealt with the situation and treated us all,” Duckers wrote on her Facebook page. We’re glad to hear that everything was done to make the children and the family as comfortable as possible in the aftermath of such a terrible situation.
Response
A spokesperson for the grocery store responded to Duckers’ Facebook post, saying that while they were just as shocked as she had been to hear what had happened, they were grateful for her kind words. Not surprised to hear how shocked they were, as this was truly an astonishing story.
Assistance
The spokesperson also mentioned that they were working with police in the investigation. ”We’re grateful for Amy’s kind comments about our colleagues who we commend for their actions and we will be assisting police with their investigation,” said the spokesperson, as reported by BBC.
Close call
Duckers said the man left her daughter with a fist mark to the head, which could have even killed the newborn baby since she weighed only a little over six pounds when she was hit. Luckily the child did not die, and justice will hopefully be served as swiftly as possible!