A woman threatened to stab a baby on a crowded train after the 15-month-old allegedly kicked her from her pram. Geraldine Brannigan claimed that 22-year-old Millicent Barnes screamed abuses at her and demanded that her daughter "apologize" to her despite the fact that the toddler was just learning to speak, Mirror reports.
The mother claimed that Barnes, from Peckham, London, became aggressive towards her and her family when they were traveling on the Central Line when it was packed with rush-hour commuters. The incident occurred on July 18 at around 5.30 pm. Brannigan and her seven other relatives had been out to celebrate her brother's graduation, the City of London Magistrates' Court heard.
The train was apparently so packed that she and her mother had boarded at one end of the locomotive while her father and others got on at the opposite end.
The court heard that Brannigan's baby kicked Barnes from her carriage as they boarded the train causing her to start screaming and demanding an apology from the baby. Brannigan said that, at first, all she could hear was a commotion from where her other family members were standing and pushing the buggy.
She then heard a female voice shouting and asking for an apology. Barnes was already leaning into the buggy and screaming abuse by the time the mother managed to squeeze through to the other end of the train. "[My daughter] is a well behaved little girl, she doesn't kick or punch, she was just sitting there like a normal child. She doesn't do anything out of the ordinary," she said. "Perhaps not the best choice of words, but my mum said 'Shut your mouth, you're scaring the child'."
Owing to Barnes's shouting and aggression, Brannigan initially thought she was either mentally unwell or on drugs. Shouting at her mother, Barnes allegedly said: "Don't tell me to shut my f-ing mouth. You're an old lady and you'll have a f-ing heart attack. You don't want to know what I have in my bag."
Brannigan continued: "She said she didn't give a 'f' about the child and she'll stab it. It felt like it was becoming a life or death situation. You don't deal with things like this every day so I felt vulnerable for my daughter."
Feeling threatened, the complainant tried to call the police. However, she realized there was no signal and so she started filming the aggressor.
According to Brannigan, Barnes constantly kept pushing her hands away so that she wouldn't get a clear shot. "She was shouting 'Record me, record me, I don't give a fuck about the police, record me'. There was no reasoning with this individual," Brannigan said. "My daughter was screaming now — fortunately, a member of the public jumped in saying, 'You need to stop, the child is scared'."
A male who accompanied Barnes allegedly told Brannigan: "She doesn't give a 'f' about the child and she'll stab it. All you need to do is get the child to apologize."
The British Transport Police later released images of Barnes to the public and she was tracked down soon after. She is now denying one count of using threatening words or behavior with intent to cause alarm or distress. The trial continues.
