Horrific moment St Louis man, 19, tries to steal baby from woman’s arms at crosswalk, before breaking 82 year-old woman’s arms during rampage targeting strangers

• Anthony McGee, 19, is accused of trying to snatch the infant at a crosswalk
• He was charged in earlier attacks including one that left an elderly woman with broken arms and another where he smashed a bottle over a woman’s head
• The teen is accused of punching a university student and spitting on officers in two separate incidents earlier this month

Surveillance video captured the appalling moment a St. Louis teenager attempted to grab a baby from a mother’s arms as she crossed the street with her husband.

The incident happened in the Central West End neighborhood Sunday, as a family of crossed the street at around 8.30am.

The mother – wearing a blue jacket – is seen holding her 11-month-old baby as the father walks beside them.

A man in a gray hoodie, identified as 19-year-old Anthony McGee, begins to move towards the family.

Suddenly, McGee grabs the infant. The father manages to fight him off before chasing him out of frame, with McGee then said to have broken an 82 year-old woman’s arms.

Surveillance footage shows Anthony McGee, 19, approaching a young family of three

He attempts to wrench the infant from the 29-year-old mother’s arms, but the father intervenes

McGee has been charged with assault, kidnapping, endangering the welfare of a child, armed criminal action and resisting arrest

Moments earlier, McGee is accused of smashing a liquor bottle over the head of a 42-year-old woman, according to charging documents.

Witnesses tried to stop him from escaping after the brutal attack, to no avail.

That’s when he then pounced on the 29-year-old parents, leaving injuries on the woman’s neck and ear.

The teen’s riot continued as he strangled an 82-year-old woman down the street, breaking both of her arms.

Several witnesses called 911 to try to stop him.

‘I heard someone screaming, a woman screaming,’ a resident at the nearby Hawthorne Apartments told FOX 8.

‘When I looked out the window, I saw the woman, and she was held and restrained by a man.’

McGee choked her for more than a minute, police said. A frantic chase ensued that ended when he was taken into custody.

The 19-year-old told police, ‘I broke her neck,’ as he was led to a squad car. The confession was reportedly captured on an officer’s body camera.

The teenager (in gray, walking left of the couple) is accused of striking a 42-year-old woman in the head with a bottle earlier that day

After attacking the couple, he proceeded to choke an 82-year-old woman and break her arms (pictured: the husband fights McGee off)

McGee is accused of punching a university student and spitting on officers in two separate incidents earlier this month (pictured: the husband chases McGee out of frame)

McGee told police, ‘I broke her neck,’ after choking the elderly woman. The statement was reportedly captured on bodycam footage

Jim Whyte, executive director of the Central West End Neighborhood Security Initiative, says the organization’s cameras captured parts of the string of attacks

Police characterized the rampage as a series of ‘random attacks.’

McGee lives in the 2900 block of Heatherton Drive in unincorporated north St. Louis County.

He faces charges including assault, kidnapping, endangering the welfare of a child, armed criminal action and resisting arrest. A judge ordered McGee to be held without bond. 

He also faces charges in several other incidents earlier this month, including striking a woman in the face and spitting on a police officer. 

In the first case, police said McGee was caught looking for unlocked cars by the St. Louis Galleria on October 12.

He then spit on an off-duty officer who was working security.

The teen was accused of punching a Washington University student three days later when he walked past her in the city of Clayton.

He fled but was eventually arrested and charged with fourth-degree assault – a misdemeanor – and resisting arrest.

On October 25, just two weeks later, he is accused of spitting on another police officer. 

A summons was issued for McGee to come to St. Louis County court on November 21.

Jim Whyte, executive director of the Central West End Neighborhood Security Initiative, said some of the organization’s 275 surveillance cameras caught parts of the attacks, including the attempted baby snatching.

McGee is no stranger, according to Whyte.

‘We had some brief dealings with him on a previous incident,’ Whyte told the St. Louis-Post Dispatch.

McGee is believed to be homeless, and White said their homeless outreach team has engaged with him on several occasions.

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