A Bristol resident has been identified as the man who held a baby off an overpass in Philadelphia during a dispute that made national headlines.
According to court papers, Raheem Murphy, 35, was charged with aggravated assault, kidnapping for ransom, unlawful restraint, possession of an instrument of crime with intent, simple assault, terroristic threats, coerce/threaten to commit a crime, false imprisonment, reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct, and harassment. Murphy is also charged with assaulting a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest, and other offenses. He was preliminarily arraigned in Philadelphia Municipal Court last week and being held as of Monday at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility on 10 percent of $1.5 million bail.
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News reports indicate Murphy was fighting with the mother his child, was armed with a gun, and held the baby off the overpass on I-95 near the Cottman Avenue exit last Thursday morning.
Bensalem Township resident Christine King drove up on the scene and got out to help.
“I saw that the man grabbed the baby and tried to throw her over the bridge,” she told NBC 10. “That’s when I hit the brakes on my car and went out to stop him.”
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King told reporters she pleaded with Murphy not to hurt the baby during the heart-pounding incident.
“I said: ‘Give me the baby,’ and I put my hand around the baby to pull the baby from him while she [the mother] was trying to pull the baby too, and I said, ‘Give me the baby.’ He said: ‘Get off my baby, I will shoot you. I will shoot you,’” she said.
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A report from Sinclair Media Group said the mother of the child was able to take the gun from Murphy’s pocket, while King talked him into handing the baby over.
King and the mother eventually got the baby, who was not seriously hurt.
Murphy ended up being taken into custody by Philadelphia police officers and Pennsylvania State Police troopers.
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Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
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