Mom charged with punching infant son in mouth on T bus

BOSTON (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - A Boston mother was arrested for punching her infant son in the mouth on an MBTA bus.

MBTA Transit Police say 25-tear-old Erica Ryan hit her son hard enough to make his mouth bleed on a Route 23 bus Tuesday afternoon.

According to police, when some passengers on the bus expressed concern for the baby, Ryan told them to mind their own business.

Police say Ryan told responding officers that "I was trying to feed my baby on the crowded bus, then my hand slipped and I hit him in the mouth."

But according to passengers, Ryan began calling her son a "m**********r" and a "f*****g n*****r" when he wouldn't eat. Then she said "little bastard, you got one more chance," according to the police report. When he wouldn't eat, she made a closed fist and punched him in the mouth.

When police arrived at the scene, the report says they found Ryan holding her son, screaming at passengers surrounding her, saying "no one is going to take away my baby!"

When Ryan spotted officers, she ran up the street, still holding her son, screaming that no one would take her child.

The little boy was taken to Boston Medical Center for treatment and observation.

Ryan pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Roxbury District Court on charges of domestic assault and battery. Her bail was set at $500 and she was ordered to stay away from her child.

Ryan's next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 25.