Mother stabbed, newborn taken

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A newborn snatched from a Nashville home was missing and his mother recovering from stab wounds she said happened when she struggled with the woman kidnapper who was posing as an immigration agent, authorities said Wednesday.

The mother, 30-year-old Maria Gurrolla, told reporters she had never seen the woman before she showed up at her door Tuesday evening. She said the woman got a knife from the home and stabbed her several times.

“I need my baby back,” she said through an interpreter outside Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she was being treated for her wounds and a collapsed lung.

Gurrolla said she did not see the woman take the baby because she ran to a neighbor’s home to get help. When she returned, her 3-year-old daughter was unharmed, but her son was gone.

Gurrolla said the woman, whom she described as a robust, white American, did not say anything about wanting to take the baby, who was lying on the sofa.

“She said she was an immigration officer, and she was there to arrest her,” Gurrolla said through the interpreter.

It was not clear if she was an immigrant, but police said she has lived in Nashville for at least 10 years. A cousin who acted as her interpreter said the family did not want to discuss her legal status. Police said the baby’s father was at the home later Tuesday night.

A tip to police led them to issue an Amber Alert with a picture and description of a 30-year-old woman. They found and questioned that woman near Buffalo, N.Y., on Wednesday, then said they did not believe she was involved in the case.

Dr. William Dutton said Gurrolla had a penetrating chest wound and her lung had collapsed. He said she also had deep stab wounds to her neck but was in stable condition. He said she still has physical signs that she gave birth recently. He described the birth as complicated but declined to elaborate.

Police spokesman Don Aaron said investigators were interviewing Gurrolla and her family again about the abduction. No one, including the family, has been ruled out as a suspect at this point, he said.

“There is an infant child that cannot care for himself who is missing, and time is of the essence,” said Kristin Helm, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Gurrolla was in a wheelchair, covered by a blanket. Her eyes were bloody and swollen and she had a long scratch on her face.

She said she feels fine physically, but emotionally she “feels a bit sad because of the situation right now and for what the family is going through.”

Police said they believe she had her baby at another hospital, and there was a blue yard sign outside the home, saying “IT’S A BOY!” Police are also in contact with the hospital where the baby was born.