Texas teen arrested for storming into hospital nursery, strangling two newborns and attacking staff
The suspect allegedly fought with police while they tried to arrest him
An 18-year-old man in Texas was arrested after he allegedly stormed through a hospital nursery and began strangling newborns and assaulting staff members.
Law & Crime reports that Marcus Dewayne McCowan Jr was charged on Monday with several felonies, including two counts of attempted first-degree capital murder.
The Odessa Police Department detailed the incident in a press release. According to the department, officers responded to an incident at the Odessa Regional Medical Centre in Texas after staff at the hospital reported that a man had "forced his way into the nursery and began assaulting patients and staff."
A local ABC affiliate, KMID, obtained an affidavit that described the alleged events at the hospital. According to the affidavit, Mr McCowan was at the hospital because his girlfriend was in labour.
Witnesses say in the affidavit that he was acting "odd and unreasonable" prior to the attack. He reportedly grabbed a nurses arm, made an "unintelligible statement" and was then asked to leave the hospital. He then began allegedly running "back and forth in the hall."
The man then allegedly began staring at a mother and her newborn, and later shoved nurses to the ground and tried to gain access to a nursery, which was locked. When that did not work, he allegedly grabbed the mother's newborn and fled into a lactation room, where he reportedly began strangling the baby.
Nurses told KMID that they saw the baby's face turn blue and noted that police chased the man into the lactation room.
A nearby therapist noted the struggle and saw Mr McCown eventually force his way into the nursery. He allegedly began strangling another baby in the nursery, and the therapist tried to calm him down.
According to the therapist, Mr McCowan then lifted the baby and said 'die,' making a move as though he were going to throw it to the ground. The therapist intervened and attempted to bring Mr McCowan to the ground while supporting the baby's head to prevent further injury.
Eventually a hospital security member arrived and helped to restrain Mr McCowan.
When police arrived Mr McCowan reportedly began struggling with them while they were attempting to take him into custody.
Mr McCowan was arrested and taken to the Ector County Jail. He was then charged with attempted murder and also possession of a controlled substance, attempting to take a weapon from an officer, assault of a public servant, resisting arrest, criminal trespassing and assault. The charge alleging he had a controlled substance resulted from a THC vape pen found on his person during the arrest.