It’s the kind of scene that makes you stop and rub your eyes, wondering how a quick trip to the mall could turn into something so reckless. Last Friday afternoon at the Capital City Mall in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, what started as a typical holiday shopping day devolved into a chaotic parking lot brawl. But the most heart-wrenching part of the whole story isn’t the punches thrown—it’s the four-month-old infant who was caught right in the middle of it.
Police say the trouble started just before 12:30 p.m. in the driving aisle of the mall parking lot. According to investigators, 26-year-old Oriel Dykes was there with her baby when she got caught up in a fight involving three other women. At first, Dykes actually left her baby alone in a stroller, parked right in the middle of the busy driving lane, so she could jump into the melee and trade blows.
The scene only got more dangerous from there. Surveillance footage and bystander videos allegedly show Dykes briefly leaving the fight to grab the stroller, but instead of pushing her child to safety, she brought the baby right back into the center of the violence. As she swung a kick at another person on the ground, the stroller—which she was still holding onto—tipped over completely.
Because the four-month-old wasn’t buckled in, the baby was thrown directly onto the hard pavement of the parking lot. It is a chilling moment captured on camera: a tiny infant on the asphalt while adults continue to scrap just feet away. Thankfully, Dykes eventually picked the child up, but the damage to her legal standing was already done.
When Lower Allen Township Police arrived, they found a mess. Two of the women, Messiah Cloud, 21, and Kajah George, 30, were nursing bloody knuckles and cuts on their faces. The third woman, 46-year-old Carrie Bowman—who happens to be Dykes’ mother—was also there, later reporting her own bumps and a swollen eye. It was a family affair that ended in handcuffs for everyone involved.
Dykes was arrested on the spot and taken to Cumberland County Prison. She’s now facing a serious felony charge for endangering the welfare of a child, along with a misdemeanor for simple assault. Her bail was set at $1,000, and she’s expected back in court for a preliminary hearing in early February.
As for the other three women, they weren’t off the hook either. Cloud, George, and Bowman were all arrested and charged with misdemeanor simple assault later that Wednesday. It’s a heavy price to pay for a parking lot dispute, leaving a community wondering how a fight could ever be more important than the safety of a child sitting just inches away.
