Police: Bellingham man punched baby in the head
BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) - Police say a Bellingham man with a history of mental illness punched a baby in the head so hard the child needed hospitalization.
The Bellingham Herald reports that 28-year-old Daniel Joshua Bravo was arrested Sunday after the baby's father and two witnesses chased him down and held him until officers arrived.
The baby and the family were in restaurant having lunch when Bravo entered the establishment.
The mother was cradling the baby in her arms when Bravo sprinted at them from behind and, still running, punched the baby in the head. The suspect used so much force the baby almost fell from the mother's arms, but she caught her child just in time.
Bravo was booked into jail for assault in the second degree, a class A felony. He has a well-documented history of mental illness, hallucinations and drug use.
The Bellingham Herald reports that 28-year-old Daniel Joshua Bravo was arrested Sunday after the baby's father and two witnesses chased him down and held him until officers arrived.
The baby and the family were in restaurant having lunch when Bravo entered the establishment.
The mother was cradling the baby in her arms when Bravo sprinted at them from behind and, still running, punched the baby in the head. The suspect used so much force the baby almost fell from the mother's arms, but she caught her child just in time.
Bravo was booked into jail for assault in the second degree, a class A felony. He has a well-documented history of mental illness, hallucinations and drug use.
Did I miss something or did it not say if the parents knew this guy? I would think that it would have said if they did. Just wondering.................
Some of the people who post on here need to review a little recent history. Â President Reagan closed down the mental health facilities during the time he was president. Â The people are not institutionalized because the facilities have long since been shut down. Â Also, if you wonder where all the homeless people come from, many of them are in need of mental health care and it is not available. Â I am not opposing getting mental health care for the people who need it. Â This great need will not be met until we realize the necessity for it and are willing to pay for it. Â Â
@Janette R Only part of what you say is true and your bias is showing. The mental hospitals were curtailed when Carter was president. I know because because I was in the field then and saw it happen. It may have continued on a limited basis when Reagan was president but each state made their own choice to do that rather than comply with court orders issued as a result of an ACLU law suit.
And he is not institutionalized, WHY exactly??? Â We can't keep having dangerous people out on the streets and expect them to stay medicated. that's ridiculous. Â Not everyone is meant to live out amongst us. Â
This scumsucker is nothing but a waste of oxygen.
If he is a danger to society, it is time to lock him up. His mental illness treatments should be at a mental hospital where he is not a danger to anyone.
Thank god he didn't have a gun..
 @Windowseat God had nothing to do with it.
The BHam herald article has more info. Â "He was convicted less than two weeks ago of one count of burglary after prosecutors said he broke into several Bellingham homes in September. Court records show he told victims he was "off (his) meds."Â
Wow... This guy would be in critical condition for hitting my baby. Â This is a sad, sad world.
 @SureHandz He would be going to a morgue if he had hit mine....I would be fearing for the life of the kid
So is that enough to lock him up in a mental ward or should we wait until he does something even worse. THESE ARE THE SIGNS PEOPLE!
 @Hachee_Bungwhy Without a doubt.  Mental illness needs to start being addressed, immediately.  I'm actually shocked the guy is alive and the father didn't gut the guy.  I would have lost it.
 @SureHandz  @Hachee_Bungwhy Sorry. America can't afford to have facilities for the mentally ill, because the Koch Brothers and the Walton Heirs, need to pay even lower taxes on their personal fortune.  They're only paying a fraction of what billionaires and multi millionaires used to pay on their AGI over 250k.  So unless we send these people to live in one of their gated estates, don't expect anything.Â
 @DT  @SureHandz  @Hachee_Bungwhy How about they stop sending our resources (read: US Taxpayer Dollars) overseas to do things like rebuild mosques in other countries, at the tune of $700 Million+ ? Everyone across the board complains about insufficient resources to deal with the mentally ill. Well, dagfmit, STOP WASTING OUR MONEY/RESOURCES OVERSEAS and take care of our own!
WTF?! Â I hope the Dad got in a couple good punches of his own.
If someone would have done that to my child I would have gone apeshit on his butt!
@Tattooed_Angel Tell me about it - my fists would be having a party at his face's house.
Obviously everyone is mad at the crazy dude but I hold his family accountable for failing to provide him the care he so badly needs in an institution.
@Larry*X*K --- Say what? He's 28 years old for goodness sake. The only way to make anyone responsible for this man is to petition for guardianship, which probable would be a good idea. Until then, he is responsible for his own actions.
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 @deadcandance Prison is the norm for mental illness.... Institutions and funding for the mentally ill have been reduced drastically..... This guy is lucky a parent didn't off him...
Put this guy away!
Involuntary Commitment. Now.
omg! The poor baby and mother! : ( I really hope this man gets locked up for a good long while.
 @ValleyBronco I imagine prison will suffice he will have other pals who are like minded....