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Baby choked by stranger at Kansas City-area Walmart, police say

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Police say a man is in custody after he allegedly tried to choke a 4-month-old baby he didn’t know at a Kansas City-area Walmart.

Overland Park police say the man walked up to a woman who was in a checkout lane early Wednesday and began choking her baby. The woman screamed and the man stopped.

The man, his in 40s, has been identified by police as Oleh Zhownirovych, CBS affiliate KCTV reported

Police say people in the store helped the woman and held the man until officers arrived. Officers said other customers and security quickly got involved, pinning the suspect to the ground until police arrived, KCTV reported.

“It’s a wonderful thing that the bystanders were there and able to subdue suspect until police arrived,” Officer John Lacy said.

The baby was not injured.

Investigators say the man possibly was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

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