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Florida Woman Left Her Own Children Alone At Home While Trying To Kidnap Another Woman’s Baby, Authorities Allege
“I want the children. I’m here for the babies,” Hannah Braun allegedly told Elroy Reynolds when he answered the door.
A Florida woman has been arrested after allegedly leaving her own children at home in order to try and kidnap another woman’s baby.
A family in St. Petersburg woke up at 2:15 a.m. Tuesday to the sounds of a woman knocking on their front door, as seen on home surveillance footage obtained by local station FOX 13.
“It’s me, momma. Hannah,” the woman, identified by authorities as 28-year-old Hannah Braun, can be heard saying.
A 12-year-old child allegedly answered the door, allowing the woman to enter the residence, local outlet WFLA-TV reports.
“’I’m just here to get the baby. I’m trying to protect the baby,’” she allegedly said after entering, the child’s mother told the station.
The 12-year-old was holding her 9-month-old brother at the time, and Braun allegedly attempted to yank the baby from his sister’s arms. Police reported “a struggle for the child” during which Braun allegedly shoved the 12-year-old when she tried to run, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Oxygen.com.
Shortly before entering that home, Braun had allegedly appeared at another neighbor's home asking for "babies."
“’I want the children. I’m here for the babies,” she allegedly told Elroy Reynolds, the man who answered the door, according to FOX 13.
She then allegedly pointed to Reynolds’s 1-year-old cousin and asked to “touch her face.”
Braun was arrested and charged with attempted kidnapping, child abuse, and burglary involving assault or battery after the mother of the 12-year-old girl called police.
Braun left her own children at home during the encounters, police said. One of the children told responding officers she “lost her mommy” and was scared, according to the affidavit.
Braun was also charged with two counts of child neglect.
It's unclear whether drugs or alcohol were involved in the incident, and there was no indication of mental health issues, according to the affidavit. However, Reynolds told FOX 13 he thought Braun "was on something.”
Braun’s children are now being cared for by a family friend, according to the affidavit. Braun is being held on $145,000 bond. It’s not clear whether she has an attorney who can comment on her behalf.
As for the mother of the infant and the 12-year-old, this incident left her rattled.
“I don’t want to live here anymore. I don’t feel safe. It’s not a good feeling at all,” she told WFLA-TV.
