Florida Mom Used 4-Month-Old Baby As Shield During SWAT Standoff

A Florida woman was taken into custody after authorities say she used her infant child as a shield during a standoff, Miami Herald reports.

Deputies responded to a hotel on Mobile Highway in Bellview, which is west of Pensacola, Monday afternoon (March 28), according to the Escambia County Sheriff's Office. A victim called 911 to report a man, identified as 34-year-old Mario Darnell Collins, who forced them at gunpoint into the hotel and robbed them.

The caller noted that there were other occupants in the room during the robbery, including 34-year-old Cordarious Wheeler, 19-year-old Kassie Nicole Johnson, and her 4-month-old baby, investigators say. While deputies were trying to make contact with Collins, they demanded Wheeler leave the room. The man allegedly refused, and SWAT was called in.

That's when Johnson allegedly did the unthinkable.

"During the standoff deputies observed (the mother) holding her infant and standing behind the front door in an attempt to prevent entry into the room by deputies,” according to the sheriff’s office. "After 30-45 minutes of negotiations, all suspects exited the room and were arrested. The infant was unharmed.”

Johnson ended up being charged with child abuse, domestic violence, and obstruction of justice without violence, deputies say. Wheeler was also charged with obstruction of justice, they added.

As for Collins, he faces charges of robbery with a firearm, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, and battery.