Man who allegedly threatened to throw his baby off I-95 overpass in Philadelphia identified
The DA's office said the suspect threatened the baby, the mother of his child, and a good Samaritan who stopped to help.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The man who was arrested for allegedly threatening the mother of his child and their baby, including a threat to throw the baby off an Interstate 95 overpass in Northeast Philadelphia, has been identified.
Raheem Murphy, 35, is facing a number of charges including aggravated assault, kidnapping, and endangering the welfare of children.
During the course of the incident on Thursday, the Philadelphia District Attorney's office said Murphy not only threatened the woman and child, he also threatened a good Samaritan who intervened.
According to investigators, it all began when Murphy pulled out a gun during a domestic argument with the mother of his child and threatened her life, the baby's life, and his own.
He then allegedly kidnapped the woman and baby and drove them to the area of the Cottman Avenue exit of Interstate 95.
Murphy then stopped the car, grabbed the baby, and threatened to throw the child off the overpass, the DA's office said.
Action News spoke with the good Samaritan, Christine King of Bensalem, Bucks County, who helped save the child.
King said she saw what was happening and pulled over.
"I couldn't just pass after I saw the baby. And after I seen him trying to throw the baby over, I couldn't let it go," King said.
King said without much thought, she jumped in to try to help the couple.
"I said, 'Give me the baby.' And I put my hand around the baby to pull the baby from him while she was trying to pull the baby too, and I said, 'Give me the baby.' He said, 'Get off my baby, I will shoot you. I will shoot you,'" King said.
She said the child's mother had the presence of mind to take Murphy's gun out of his pocket while he was distracted.
"She went behind him, he was shaking so he didn't know she was in his pocket, and that's when she grabbed the gun out of his pocket. That's when she put it in her pocket," King said.
King said she and the woman tried to talk him down and to hand the baby over.
She said Murphy still had the baby when police arrived, and officers were able to safely take the baby from him.
Murphy resisted arrest, the DA's office said, and assaulted the state police trooper before he was taken into custody.
Murphy is being held on $1.5 million bail. He is also under a stay away order and must undergo a mental health evaluation, the DA's office said.
The DA's office also shared the following resources for victims of domestic violence:
National Domestic Abuse Hotline: 1-888-799-SAFE (7233)
Women Against Abuse: 1-866-723-3014
