A Pennsylvania community is reeling after prosecutors say a father carried out a brutal attack on his infant son, leaving the child fighting for his life in the snow outside a Coatesville apartment complex.
According to the New York Post, Michael Phillips, 44, was taken into custody Wednesday morning after police were called to a reported stabbing shortly before 11:40 a.m., according to the Chester County District Attorney’s Office.
When officers arrived, they learned Phillips had allegedly stabbed his 3-month-old son in the abdomen.
The baby’s mother told investigators he had been making statements about “having to sacrifice the baby” and had approached her with a knife, prosecutors said.
She told police Phillips attempted to stab the infant multiple times, but struck him once.
The mother then grabbed the wounded child and her 9-year-old son and tried to escape the apartment. As the older boy ran for help, Phillips allegedly chased them outside, took the baby from her arms, and “threw the infant in the snow.”
Authorities said the mother “used her body to shield her child from further harm” until first responders arrived.
Officers rushed the baby to receive emergency medical treatment before he was flown to a nearby hospital in “very serious condition,” according to Coatesville police. By Thursday, the infant was listed in critical but stable condition.
A neighbor, Edward Rivers, said he saw Phillips earlier that morning with his children and described the encounter as ordinary.
“He’s always been a quiet, nice guy,” Rivers told NBC10.
“Every time I see him, he says, ‘What’s up?’ This morning I saw him. He walked outside with his son and I saw him. He smiled to me, said goodbye like normal and walked out. To me, it was surprising because he seemed like a really nice guy. He was really a good neighbor.”
Phillips faces charges including attempted homicide, aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of a child, simple assault, possessing an instrument of crime, and recklessly endangering another person, prosecutors said.
He is being held without bond at Chester County Prison.
“Coatesville Police and local EMS heroically worked to give this infant a chance to survive. Our thoughts go to the family during this incredibly difficult time,” District Attorney Christopher de Barrena-Sarobe said.
