Nassau police: Woman grabbed baby in 'unusual incident'

Nassau County police are investigating an “unusual incident” in which a woman grabbed a baby’s arm in the bathroom of a Valley Stream store on Thursday and told the mother to “give me the baby.”

The mother told police she was shopping at the Kohl’s store in Green Acres Mall at about 10:45 a.m. and took her 1-year-old into the bathroom on the first floor. As she tended to her child, another woman with long blonde hair, a blue jacket, yellow shirt and multicolored skirt entered the bathroom and took an interest in the child, police said.

The blonde woman remarked “That is a beautiful baby,” and proceeded to walk around the restroom. The woman then approached the mother and told her to give her the baby. The blonde woman again said “Give me the baby” and grabbed the child’s arm, police said.

The mother told police that she pushed the woman away and left the bathroom to find Kohl’s security. The blonde woman was last seen leaving in a black livery vehicle.

Police said at this point in the investigation they could not characterize the incident as an attempted abduction.

The investigation is ongoing. Detectives are asking anyone with information about the incident to call Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.