Baby Gets Knifed While In Stroller

Okay, this is some crazy, upsetting stuff: A man stabbed a 10 month-old baby while she was being pushed in her stroller last night. Isabelle Avins was out and about with her nanny at West 171st Street and Fort Washington Avenue when Bernard Derr, described by police as "mentally disturbed," plunged a knife into her stomach and tried to take the gold chain from her neck. The police say Derr "nearly disemboweled" Avins and then fled the scene, with other passers-by trying to pursue him; he was arrested at his group home on Fort Washington Avenue and a knife was found in an alley nearby. Avins is in critical but stable condition at Columbia Presbyterian; her father is grateful to the nanny who hailed a livery cab and took the baby to the hospital as well as the police and neighbors.

Yikes. And a baby was held up (along with his mother) in Central Park earlier this year.

Photograph by NY Post

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By Jen Chung in News on September 8, 2005 7:51 AM

Comments [rss]

Jon Avins

I am her father. She is doing well. The reports of a gold chain were false. She does not own and was not wearing any jewelry.

Lindus

Dear "you people make me sick",

I am sure that Stalin was nice to cats at times too... Seriously, the issue is that many states (and countries) seem to not understand that many mentally ill individuals need constant surpervision and medication. Just handing out the psychopharma for the month will not guarantee that the patient will self-medicate.

In the end we should be greatful that the little tyke survived. On the other hand I do propose that certain individuals should be tucked away from the general populace for such a time that they are no longer a danger to the general populace. Be they mentally ill or just plain act in a despicable manner.

With hopes they all have a swell time,

/Lindus

you people make me sick

I have a friend who's mentally ill. He never tried to stab me, or any babies (no matter how much they cried and threw tantrums). The mentally ill aren't murderers. This man happened to be mentally ill. The victim happened to be a baby. And the baby happened to be wearing a glittery, shimmering 24-karat gold chain. Shock. Gasp. You people make me sick.

REALITY CHECK

Did anyone notice the odd juxtaposition of top stories in today's New York Newsday?

Education

It's not simply "mentally retarded" people that are the problem, it's the mentally ILL people....which are two categories that are not necessarily one in the same. My only sibling has Down Syndrome (and thus considered mentally retarded) and wouldn't be at all the type of lunatic who committed this awful act. We need education on the matter of illness and find something to do about that...not lump everyone together so that the harmless are in harmful situations. And that goes for the general public as well. I hope the baby pulls through ok.

Dr Moreau

The only thing we can do is stick all the mentally retarded or ill people on an island and airdrop food to them every once in a while. The rest will sort itself out.

jenna terrorcon

that guy was a fucking sicko

bklynd

This same exact thing happened in Middletown, CT (home of Wesleyan U.) about 15 years ago. There it lead to lots of hand-wringing about what they should do with the local population of mentally-ill residents.

Kojak

Sick bastard. I hope he gets life for this in the worst Pound-me-in-the-ass prison.

yowza

Man, that's really crazy. I live in the neighborhood, albeit about 15 blocks north. The neighborhood isn't a crime-ridden hood, but getting safer by the year. This is tragic however. I hope for the best for the infant and parents.