WOODBURY, Minn. — Police say a woman is in custody after two young children were injured, one of them seriously, during a disturbing incident in Woodbury early Wednesday morning.
Woodbury Police Commander John Altman tells KARE 11 the woman was booked on suspicion of felony assault, and official charges are expected some time Thursday morning.
Multiple people called 911 dispatchers just after 12:45 a.m., reporting that a child was being chased by a parent on the 400 block of Lake View Alcove, police said in a news release. Dispatchers say screaming could be heard in the background of the emergency calls.
When officers arrived on scene they found one child laying unresponsive in the street. Police say they think this child is between 4 and 6 years old, and was seriously hurt.
A second child, who police estimate is 6 years old and was also being chased, was with one of the 911 callers. Police say that child had suffered moderate injuries.
Both of the young victims were taken to Regions Hospital by Woodbury Ambulance, where one of the children is said to be in critical condition.
"We’re so thankful the community reacted," shared Commander Altman. "So often, people have this mindset that somebody else will call… in this instance, many people in that community, in that neighborhood, were able to call and step up, speak up, on behalf of the children in the neighborhood.”
Neighborhood resident Jon Kue says he was sleeping when he was awakened by the chaos. "Waking up, we knew something was wrong. We opened the window to hear where the screaming was coming from, and it was from across the street," Kue shared. "We could hear a distinct… a little girl screaming, crying for help or something.”
Multiple departments responded to the calls, and the woman was taken into custody. Police did not comment on the relationship between the suspect and the young victims, but did say as of Wednesday morning they weren't looking for any other suspects and that the public was not in danger.
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