Philadelphia police have arrested 28-year-old Dominique Billips in connection with the shooting of a 7-month-old baby boy on Thursday night. The incident occurred on the 4000 block of Meridian Street in the Holmesburg neighborhood.
Disturbing footage obtained by Action News captures the gunman approaching and opening fire on the baby and his parents outside their home. In the video, the child's mother can be heard screaming, "My baby," repeatedly after the shots were fired.
Lieutenant Denis Rosenbaum of the Philadelphia police expressed disbelief over the incident: "You knew they had a stroller, what makes you walk up to someone with a stroller and shoot them?" According to the police, one of the bullets struck the baby in the leg. When officers arrived at the scene, however, the parents were not present.
"The mother and father, who had initially gone to the hospital, left the location because of fear from police due to outstanding warrants," explained Rosenbaum. Authorities later brought the parents in for questioning and learned about an argument that had taken place earlier on the 7900 block of Frankford Avenue.
With the help of business surveillance video from the area, police were able to get a clearer image of the suspect. The investigation revealed that the argument was over a $100 narcotics debt. "One of the detectives from a different squad recognized one of the females involved from another shooting in August 2022, where she was the victim," Rosenbaum noted.
A tip provided the name of the offender, which matched the identity the detective had suspected. Police reported that arrangements were being made for the baby, who was in stable condition at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), to be released to family members.
The outstanding warrants for the parents were nonviolent, according to police. "It's sad. You see she points the gun at the mother of the baby, who is also a juvenile, and fires. Luckily she missed. A 7-month-old baby might not remember that, but that story is always going to be there," Rosenbaum commented.
Billips faces charges including Aggravated Assault, Violation of the Uniform Firearms Act (VUFA), and other related offenses.
