St. Pete woman accused of breaking into home to steal 9-month-old baby

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Elroy Reynolds said he was home early Tuesday morning when a woman tried to break into his house. He was able to force her out and then watched as she went to the front door of another nearby home.

Police say the woman, 28-year-old Hannah Braun, was greeted at the door by an unsuspecting child, who let her in. That's when Braun allegedly spotted a 9-month-old baby, which she then tried to kidnap.

Thankfully, an adult in the home intervened, but police say the baby was not the only child possibly in danger. They say Braun left two small children alone at her home during the incident.

Ring doorbell footage shows a woman knocking on the door around 2 a.m. on Tuesday. 

"She was on something. She was yelling," Reynold recalled to FOX 13 News Wednesday.

Braun lives just a few houses down the road, but before she knocked on the door with the Ring camera, she knocked on Reynolds' door. 

"The lady is pushing the door open. She comes in the house. Almost pushed my grandmother over and that's when I jump up," Reynolds said. "I said, ‘What are you doing?’ She said, ‘I want the children. I'm here for the babies’. I said, ‘Where are your kids at? What's going on?’ She said, ‘No, the babies.’ Then she pointed to my little cousin and said ‘Let me touch her face.’"

Reynolds said he watcher her go into the next house, in the 600 block of 15th Avenue South in St. Petersburg. This time police say she got inside after a child answered the door. Another child was inside holding a 9-month-old baby who investigators say Braun tried to kidnap.

Neighbors called 911. When police arrived, officers located Braun and arrested her.

(Pinellas County Sheriff's Office)

Police later learned she was caring for two kids under the age of five, who they say she left home alone while she went knocking on the doors of other homes.

"It was kind of scary, she left her own children in the house and was running around looking for other children. That makes no sense," Reynolds said.

Braun is currently being held in the Pinellas County Jail on multiple charges, including attempted kidnapping and child abuse.

The two kids in Braun's care are now in the care of a family friend. No one was injured.