Police cite $100 drug debt as the reason behind the shooting of a 7-month-old; alleged shooter ID’d

A 28-year-old woman has been charged in the shooting of a 7-month-old infant in the city’s Holmesburg section on Thursday night that police say stemmed from a $100 drug debt with the child’s parents.

Police arrested Dominique Billups, of Northeast Philadelphia, Friday night and authorities charged her with three counts of aggravated assault, possession of an instrument of crime, reckless engagement, and related offenses, Lt. Dennis Rosenbaum said at a news conference Saturday.

Police on Friday released surveillance video that shows two people, whom authorities identified as the 7-month-old victim’s parents, hanging out on Meridian Street with a baby stroller, when a person police said is Billups walks up and fires three shots at close range.

A woman screams. The shooter then appears to yell at the mother about her baby and calls her an expletive before fleeing the scene.

“That video is very disturbing,” Rosenbaum said Saturday, “and it looks like this all stems from a $100 narcotics debt, is what we’re being told.”

Rosenbaum said detectives recognized Billups as the victim of an unrelated shooting that occurred in the same area in August 2022.

During their investigation, police obtained surveillance footage from businesses on Frankford Avenue that provided a clearer picture of Billups and the events leading up to the shooting.

Rosenbaum said Billups and the mother — who knew each other — could be seen getting into an argument. The mother left with the baby and met the father a few blocks away, but Billups followed the couple to Meridian Street, where the shots were fired.

After the shooting, Rosenbaum said the parents also fled the scene because they both had open warrants and were fearful of the police. A nearby resident took the infant to the hospital, where the child remains in stable condition. Rosenbaum said the parents called the police an hour later and eventually went to the police station for interviews.

Police recovered three 9-millimeter shell casings at the scene. The infant was struck once in the leg. Rosenbaum said the mother and father were not injured. Officers with the Highway Patrol Unit tracked Billups down Friday night and arrested her without incident.

Rosenbaum described the shooting as a petty dispute that escalated needlessly to gun violence — as is the case in many shootings that plague the city.

Shootings of children in Philadelphia have become distressingly common, underscoring a national crisis where gun violence is now the leading cause of death for Americans under 18. In Philadelphia last year, 24 children were killed in shootings, some of them as young as 2.

More than 160 children were shot in total that year. The city is on pace to match that number this year, with 80 children shot as of July 18, according to data compiled by the City Controller.

Rosenbaum thanked residents and business owners in Holmesburg for providing information that helped lead police to Billups. He said care for the infant is being arranged in coordination with the Department of Human Services.

“The 7-month-old baby might not remember that,” Rosenbaum said of the shooting. “But it’s always going to be there. That story is always gonna be out there.”