Florida mother stabbed 3 hospital workers before leaving with newborn from NICU, deputies say
Credit: Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office
TAMPA, Fla. - A Florida woman was arrested after she allegedly stabbed three hospital workers before fleeing the building with her newborn baby, deputies said.
Around 10:36 p.m. deputies were sent to the Palms West Hospital following reports of a stabbing. Several employees told deputies that Kendra Greene, who recently gave birth to a newborn, abducted her baby from the neonatal intensive care unit before fleeing the hospital.
During the incident, Greene reportedly stabbed three employees with a large kitchen knife, an arrest affidavit shows.
Before the stabbings, a "code pink" announcement was made over the loudspeaker indicating a child abduction. Workers must prevent anyone from leaving the area during a code pink, one of the victims told deputies.
A worker on duty in the NICU unit told deputies she saw Greene "violently remove the breathing device from the infant's mouth" along with a feeding tube and multiple other life support devices that were keeping the infant alive.
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The worker said she pleaded with Greene to get her to stop, but Greene responded with expletives before leaving to get on an elevator, an arrest affidavit shows.
One victim was stabbed after she saw Greene attempting to leave with the infant underneath her shirt and tried to grab the baby, but Greene swung the knife at her, cutting the woman's hand.
A second victim who was near an emergency room exit said she walked up to Greene to grab the baby but was struck in the neck with the knife by Greene.
Greene approached another one of the victims who was guarding an emergency room exit and slashed him in the right forearm with the knife before she ran into the south parking lot area to get into her car.
Deputies said they found Greene at her home in Loxahatchee, but she left the home and fled the area in her car.
Greene eventually crashed her car and fled into a canal where she was then arrested by deputies.
An associate of Greene told deputies she is a "diagnosed schizophrenic" and had been deteriorating mentally.
Greene was arrested on two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, one count of simple battery, one count of aggravated child abuse, and one count of resisting arrest without violence.