A Florida woman stabbed three hospital employees when she removed her three-day-old infant from a ventilator Thursday night, authorities said.
Kendra Greene was arrested on suspicion of two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, one count of simple battery, one count of aggravated child abuse, and one count of resisting arrest without violence.
She had recently given birth to a newborn from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the Palms West Hospital when she returned Thursday to take the child, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. When she tried leaving with the child after removing the baby from a ventilator, she took out a knife when hospital staffers tried to stop her, authorities said.
Three employees were injured. They were treated for non-life-threatening injuries and discharged from the hospital.
“Fortunately, Kendra dropped off the baby with a family member, so the baby was safely transported back to the hospital by Palm Beach County Fire Rescue and is currently in stable condition,” the sheriff’s office said.
A hospital employee told authorities that she saw Greene “violently remove the breathing device from the infant’s mouth” along with a feeding tube and other life support devices that were keeping the child alive.
Greene reportedly tried hiding the child under her shirt.
Before the stabbings, a “code pink” announcement was made over the loudspeaker indicating a child abduction, the news outlet reported. Workers must prevent anyone from leaving the area during a code pink, one of the victims told deputies.
One victim was stabbed in the neck , another in the hand and the third on the right forearm. Greene was found by authorities in her home before she allegedly fled in a vehicle. She crashed and was arrested after fleeing into a canal, the report said.
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