A man set a pregnant woman on fire in Columbia Heights, Maryland, police say. The woman is in critical condition after giving birth to her baby at a hospital. News4’s Shomari Stone reports.
A pregnant woman's boyfriend set her on fire in Capitol Heights, Maryland, critically injuring her and forcing her to deliver her baby, police said.
Prince George's County police officers and firefighters found Andrea Grinage with critical burns on a large part of her body while responding to a fire about 11:45 a.m. Friday at 1405 Elkwood Lane, police said.
Grinage told police her boyfriend doused her with a flammable liquid inside her apartment and set her on fire. She also told police he may be on his way to D.C. to possibly harm one of her relatives, Prince George's County police spokeswoman Jennifer Donelan said at a news conference Friday afternoon.
"She was very brave. We want her family to know how brave she was, suffering as badly as she was -- critically burned, worried about her unborn child, dealing with those injuries and was able to share that information with us so that we could get moving with our investigation and locate this person," Donelan said.
Medics took Grinage to a hospital, where she delivered the baby. Police said she and the baby are alive.
“These are not the circumstances under which this baby was to be born,” Donelan said.
Grinage's father, Arthur Grinage, said the baby, a girl, was born seven weeks premature and is doing OK.
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"She's hanging in there. She's doing fine. She's beautiful," he said.
Police said the suspect turned himself in to police in Washington, D.C., and is in custody. Charges are pending against the suspect.
Relatives and neighbors said the suspect is the woman's boyfriend. Neighbors said they heard the two arguing Thursday night.
"He's a coward. He's less than a man. Walk away if you don't want the responsibility. Walk away," the victim's father said.
