Man Arrested After Allegedly Choking Baby, Beating Woman, Attacking Police

arrested a man on Monday after he allegedly choked a 1-year-old child and beat her grandmother at 3201 Wilshire Blvd., police said Thursday morning.

The alleged incident occurred around 3:30 p.m. The man—who police say is a 51-year-old homeless individual living in Santa Monica—allegedly tried, but failed, to remove the baby from the stroller that was being pushed by the 48-year-old woman.

"The suspect then began choking the baby and eventually ripped child’s clothing off as well," police said. "The grandmother attempted to intervene and was attacked by the suspect, who punched her in the face several times while continuing to remove the baby from the stroller. Another citizen intervened and was able to separate the suspect from the baby and was ultimately assaulted by the suspect as well."

Upon responding to the alleged incident, three police officers suffered minor injuries while trying to subdue the suspect.

"Officers were confronted by the hostile suspect who failed to follow commands and physically attacked the first officer on scene," police said. "After a lengthy struggle with the suspect, involving several officers and the deployment of a Taser which had little to no effect, the suspect was taken into custody."

The baby sustained minor injuries to various parts of his body—his head, neck, face and torso—according to police. The grandmother was injured in the head and face, as was the citizen who intervened in the alleged incident. Paramedics treated the three individuals.

The suspect was brought to the SMPD jail and booked for attempted murder, assault, kidnapping, child cruelty and obstructing/resisting arrest that caused injury.

Bail for the suspect has been set at $500,000.