Mich. officers kick down door, stop mother from attempting to drown her 2-year-old

An officer kicked open a locked door and found a woman holding a toddler underwater in the bathtub

June 26, 2023 09:24 AM

By Kaitlyn Alanis
The Charlotte Observer

ALBION, Mich. — Children were heard screaming and begging for help when a 15-year-old girl called 911, according to authorities in Michigan.

Officers with the Albion Department of Public Safety responded to the home at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 24, and “heard commotion from behind a locked door in the residence,” according to a Facebook post from the agency.

An officer kicked the door open, police said, and found a woman holding a toddler underwater in a bathtub.

The officer pulled the 2-year-old girl away from the 35-year-old woman and began CPR in the living room, according to the news release.

“After giving a few quick breaths, the child coughed up water and began breathing on her own,” authorities said. Meanwhile, a deputy with the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office detained the woman.

Authorities believe she is the mom of the four children found in the home: the 2-year-old girl, a 4-year-old boy, an 8-year-old child and a 15-year-old girl.

The 2-year-old was found with stab wounds to her chest and throat, officials said, and the 4-year-old had some cuts. Authorities believe they may have also ingested a cleaning fluid.

They were taken to a hospital about 20 miles away before being flown to Ann Arbor for further treatment, according to the release. They were in stable condition as of 3 p.m. Saturday.

The two older children did not appear to be injured, police said.

The mother, who police did not name, was arrested and later taken to a hospital as authorities said she may have ingested the cleaning fluid as well.

Chief Scott Kipp credited the responding officer and deputy for their “quick response and decisive actions (that) helped to save the life of the two-year-old child.”

Albion is about 50 miles west of Ann Arbor.

If you are experiencing domestic violence and need someone to talk to, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline for support at 1-800-799-7233 or text “START” to 88788.

—