Florida mom arrested for trying to kidnap neighbor's 9-month-old baby after leaving own 2 kids alone at home
PINELLAS COUNTY, FLORIDA: A woman has been arrested after she allegedly tried to kidnap a nine-month-old baby in the early hours of Tuesday morning, August 18. Hannah Braun’s alleged crime was also reportedly captured on a doorbell camera.
You can watch the video here.
The 28-year-old suspect, who also tried to abduct another child, was taken into custody in St. Petersburg in Pinellas County. Braun allegedly left for child hunting while her own two children were alone at home. One of them reportedly told police that they had “lost mommy”.
According to reports, the suspect entered the nine-month-old baby’s house and tried to snatch the toddler from the arms of his older sister when the kids’ mother saw her. The police arrived and arrested Braun shortly after 2 am as the woman claimed that she was “going” to protect the baby.
The mother of the child who has only been identified as Amber said that she does not know Braun, but now fears for her family’s safety since it was so easy for the accused to enter her home. The footage has also been provided by her that showed Braun knocking on Amber’s family home door with a phone in her hand. “It's me. “It's me, Momma, Hannah,” she said. The clip then ended as it showed the accused entering the house.
It has reported that Braun was allowed inside the house by a kid. The accused then attempted to get the baby from the arms of his elder sister, that’s when Amber saw her leading to a struggle between them. However, the mother succeeded in safely taking her baby back, the St. Petersburg Police Department said.
“She’s standing in my living room, talking about, yah, I’m just here to get the baby. I’m trying to protect the baby. I’m like protect the baby? Why are you in my house,” Amber said. Adding further, she said: “I don’t want to live here anymore. I don’t feel safe. It’s not a good feeling at all. A random person can like, come to your house and literally take your child out of your house?”
Reports also claimed that it was Braun’s second attempt to abduct a child as moments before she entered Amber’s house, she had knocked on the door of another neighbor, identified as Thelma Reynolds, and attempted to kidnap her one-year-old grandson. “She wanted the baby. She said she was taking care of babies here. And that’s what she wanted. She wanted this baby,” Thelma said.
The grandmother said that her another grandson, Elroy Reynolds, managed to push Braun away but said she believed the suspect was high on something and also yelled. “The lady is pushing the door open. She comes in the house. Almost pushed my grandmother over and that's when I jump up,” Elroy told FOX 13 News. “I said, ‘What are you doing?’ She said, ‘I want the children. I'm here for the babies’. I said, ‘Where are your kids at? What's going on?’ She said, ‘No, the babies.’ Then she pointed to my little cousin and said ‘Let me touch her face.’ She was on something. She was yelling.”
Elroy also said that he watched her going to the next house n the 600 block of 15th Avenue South in St. Petersburg, where she was caught by the police. A spokeswoman of St. Petersburg Police said the motive behind the alleged crimes remains unclear and they are yet to find out if drugs or alcohol played any role here.
Meanwhile, Braun’s children have reportedly been sent under the care of a family friend. Speaking of the suspect’s kids, Amber said: “If you’re coming in here and trying to take my baby, there’s no telling what you’re doing to your own kids and how your own kids mental state is after all this trauma they experienced. I can only imagine the trauma they experience on a regular basis.”
Braun has reportedly been charged with attempted kidnapping, burglary with assault or battery, child abuse, and two counts of neglect of a child without great bodily harm. She is currently in jail and her bond has been set up at $145,000.