NEW YORK (AP) - A drunken man tried repeatedly to yank a baby in a stroller away from a mother before the woman escaped into a dollar store and called New York City police, who are seeking the public’s help tracking the man down.
Blanca Aucanshala, 28, told the Daily News the stranger was urinating on a nearby car when she left her babysitter’s home in Queens Thursday evening with Kayla in a stroller. The man grabbed her from behind and tried to pull the stroller away.
“He asked me three times” for the baby, Aucanshala said, “and I told him to back away because I would not give him my daughter.”
A bystander stepped in and scared off the man. But he soon came back and followed the mother into a store where she dashed to the back and called police. He ran off as sirens approached.
“Why the baby?” said Aucanshala, a single mother from Ecuador. “Just take my phone or purse. Those are things that I can earn back.”
Police released surveillance photos of the man Saturday night and asked the public for help finding him. He’s described as 5-foot-5 with brown eyes, black hair and a thin build, wearing a green hooded sweatshirt, dark pants and red sneakers.
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