Man says ‘die’ as he chokes, shakes newborn in hospital nursery, affidavit says WGNTV

A teen in Texas went on a crazed rampage at the Odessa Regional Medical Center nursery, in Odessa, TX.  According to reports, his girlfriend was in labor, and during his time there he allegedly choked two newborn babies.

As reported by KMID, 18-year-old Marcus Dewayne McCowan Jr was with his pregnant girlfriend at Odessa Regional Medical Center while she was in labor, on Monday, October 3 at about 6:30 pm.  McCowan was with her shortly before he allegedly began to attack innocent babies in the hospital.

An outlet said the teen acted oddly in the nurses’ area before grabbing the arm of a nurse and making “an unintelligible statement.” 

The staff found McCowan’s behavior “odd and unreasonable” as he ran back and forth in the hall. According to reports, a mother and her newborn were about to leave the hospital when McCowan ran at “full speed” toward two nurses.

A nurse was shoved to the ground by the suspect as he tried to gain access to the nursery, according to the affidavit.  The nursery was locked and McCowan was not able to gain access.  But he didn’t stop there. Officials say McCowan then ripped the newborn that was close by from its mom and grabbed it by its neck with both hands. Gripping the baby so hard that the baby’s face turned blue. 

Nurses managed to save the baby from McCowan, but he continued his rampage.  He then bolted into the nursery and this time gained access.

Respiratory therapist Martha Fuentes found him choking another baby whose face was turning blue as he held and shook the baby. She claims that McCowan told the baby to “die!” while choking her.  He also made a motion as if to throw her to the ground. Fuentes was able to intervene and save the baby from further injuries until help arrived.

McCowan did not go easy.  It was reported that he put up a fight with the police.  At one point he reportedly grabbed an officer’s gun but was eventually arrested.

McCowan was taken into custody. In addition to two counts of attempted capital murder, McCowan is charged with possession of a controlled substance, assaulting a public servant, and resisting arrest, among others.

In a statement, Odessa Regional Medical Center president Stacey Brown said:

“I want to express my sincere gratitude to those who responded to the incident last evening, especially our nurses, therapists, and security team who worked diligently to protect innocent babies and others. The staff and physicians, along with the response team from the Odessa Police Department, are incredible heroes, and we are all so grateful to each of them,” she concluded. “Our attention is now focused on caring for and supporting those who were impacted by this, including our patients, their families, and our staff.”

For more coverage, see the additional news sources below:

Texas teen allegedly chokes newborns in wild hospital attack, shouts ‘die!’ NY Post

Texas teen is charged after choking TWO newborns in hospital where his girlfriend was giving birth Daily Mail UK 

Man says ‘die’ as he chokes, shakes newborn in hospital nursery, affidavit says WGNTV

Texas teen arrested for storming into hospital nursery, strangling two newborns and attacking staff Yahoo News

Nursery intruder says ‘die’ as he chokes, shakes newborn, affidavit says KMID