AVENTURA, Fla. – A mother offered advice to parents, shoppers, and anyone traveling with children after a woman was accused of grabbing her 4-month-old baby at Aventura Mall on Sunday afternoon.
Police were called to the mall after a woman and the father of her child told police they were in the mall when they were approached by Martha Pratt, who unexpectedly grabbed their 4-month-old daughter by the shirt as she was in her stroller.
The girl’s father told police that Pratt was yelling obscenities and saying that she wanted to take the baby with her.
Aventura police said the family does not know Pratt and the mother immediately tried to push her away in an effort to protect her baby. Pratt smacked the mother’s hand away, according to the police report.
According to the report, she then ran out of the mall but officers found her a short time later in the parking lot of the nearby Aventura branch library.
During her court appearance on Monday, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer asked the woman if she had “hospital benefits.” Pratt told her lawyer that she did.
The judge said she would consider having Pratt be admitted to a hospital and be placed there for a few days to get “stabilized” instead of sitting in jail “with a bond that you may, or may not be able to post.”
The conclusion was reached in hopes of figuring out where the suspect is and was mentally.
On Tuesday, the mother of the child, who asked to remain unidentified, had a message for anyone shopping with young children.
“It’s important (to) be aware of who is around you and be careful with your children,” she said.
Pratt is facing charges of battery and child neglect without great bodily harm pending a stay at Mercy Hospital, according to court records. She is also banned from Aventura Mall and was ordered to not go near the victims.