Police arrested a 19-year-old man for allegedly repeatedly stabbing a young mother while she shopped inside a New Jersey home goods store with her toddler.
Tyrik Haynes was charged Friday with attempted murder, unlawful possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child, among other crimes. He's being held on more than $1 million bail and had recently been charged with torturing a cat to death in an unrelated case.
Prosecutors say 29-year-old Kerri Dalton of Keansburg was at the Bed Bath and Beyond store on Route 35 in Middletown Thursday when a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt suddenly ran up to her and stabbed her multiple times. Dalton was pushing her toddler in a stroller at the time of the stabbing.
Anna Patel, a manager at the Staples store next door, said a customer ran out of Bed Bath and Beyond screaming, "Can you help me? Can you help me? A lady got stabbed, do you know CPR?"
The attacker walked calmly out of the store after the stabbing, witnesses said.
"He just walked out," said Patel. "He didn't run, he walked out like nothing happened."
Police said it didn't appear the young mother knew her attacker. She was taken by medical helicopter to Jersey Shore Medical Center, where she was listed in critical but stable condition.
Dalton's family told NBC 4 New York she was recovering and Dalton's mother said she hoped the attacker "stays behind bars for a very long time."
In a statement through the hospital, Dalton's family said, "Kerri and her family are grateful for the outpouring of public support and care she is receiving at the hospital. At the moment, they request privacy to heal during this difficult time."
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His lawyer said in court that she planned to file a formal bail motion.
