Elsie Rose Duckers: Man Allegedly Punches 5-Day-Old Baby In Face After Mistaking It For Doll In Manchester Tesco
Police in Manchester, England, have arrested a 63-year-old man after he was alleged to have punched a 5-day-old baby girl.
As reported by the Daily Mail, little Elsie Rose Duckers, who weighs just 6 lbs., 12 oz., was out in public, for the first time since being born, at grocery conglomerate Tesco with her family on Monday evening, when the incident occurred. According to the child’s mother, Amy Duckers, 27, a neighbor approached her inside the store and asked to get a better look at the resting Elsie Rose, who was nestled inside of a stroller.
It was the first time mum Amy had taken little Elsie Rose out https://t.co/N2l21o4HCa
— Manchester News MEN (@MENnewsdesk) September 6, 2016
“Our neighbor then saw one of her work colleagues who was with her husband, and said, ‘Aww, come and have a look at this lovely baby,'” Amy expressed, “and the next thing [I knew], he ran over and punched Elsie Rose in the face.”
Duckers’ eldest child, 7-year-old Libby, who was standing next to the carriage Elsie Rose lied in, initially believed that she had just witnessed her baby sister being murdered. Her parents, meanwhile, were momentarily stunned to complete silence.
“We were mortified. My daughter was screaming thinking he had killed the baby,” Duckers said. “We all heard the punch land on my little baby. [My partner and I] didn’t react at first, as we were just so shocked.”
“He began denying anything had happened, despite the crying children and visible imprint on Elsie’s face,” Amy fumed, “and I just went hysterical, asking why he hurt my baby. He just apologized and said, ‘Sorry, I thought it was a doll!'”
After tracking down security in the store, Amy quickly rushed Elsie Rose to nearby Wythenshawe Hospital, also known as the University Hospital of South Manchester, to have the newborn tended to. She was held overnight for observation but luckily allowed to go back home the very next day with nothing more than minor bruising. Understandably, Amy is still livid at the situation which could have led to serious injury, or worse, the death of her newborn daughter.
“She was quite sickly and sleepy last night,” Duckers stated to The Sun, “but, at least she is home now. I just can’t believe it happened, and neither can anyone [else] I tell. [Even] strangers were hugging me at the hospital when I told them about it.”
As for the man who allegedly performed the inappropriate “test” on Elsie Rose, he was quickly arrested and charged with assault, according to a spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police.
“Police were called shortly before 6:45 p.m. to a supermarket on Altrincham Road in Baguley on Monday to reports of a child having been hit,” their statement read. “A 63-year-old was arrested on suspicion of assault and is currently in custody being questioned by officers.”
Understandably, Duckers has more than a bit of trepidation about taking Elsie Rose outdoors again so soon after the attack.
“It was the first time I’d taken Elsie out since she was born,” Amy shared. “Now, I’m just too frightened to take her out again. I don’t [even] want anyone to touch [her] ever again. I literally can’t get my head around why someone would do this.”
Ironically, another story involving confusion over a baby made headlines back in August of this year. As noted by the Inquisitr, an emergency response team from Hoboken, New Jersey, believed that they were rescuing an infant from a locked vehicle on a hot, summer day. After breaking the window to retrieve the “child,” it turned out that it was actually a lifelike doll that belonged to the driver’s daughter.
[Photo by SbytovaMN/iStock by Getty Images]
