“Unprovoked, and she just pushed my daughter like she was a grown woman,” said Sahara Bernard. 

Bernard’s daughter is far from grown. Scarlet Garcia is just two years old. She was with her mother outside a deli-grocery store when a woman, who police say is in her mid 30s to 40s, emerges and shoves the little girl with so much force the toddler hits the sidewalk, narrowly missing a metal pipe on the pavement.

What You Need To Know

  • A woman shoved a two-year-old girl, pushing her into the pavement

  • The attack on the toddler was caught on surveillance cameras

  • The child’s mother wants the woman who assaulted her child to face legal consequences

The bizarre attack on the innocent child happened early Tuesday morning on the corner of East 198th Street and Valentine Avenue in the Bronx.

“I felt helpless, but I also felt like there's more I could've done, but me being pregnant, there was only so much I could do. The only thing I thought of was just going to the hospital and making sure my daughter was OK,” said Bernard.

Little Scarlet was taken to Montefiore Medical Center and only suffered a scratch on her cheek. Still, neighbors in the Bedford Park community have been checking on the mom and daughter after finding out about the disturbing encounter. 

“I was devastated. I was like, ‘Oh my God, that’s a baby. How could you do that to a baby?’ Uh uh, we are not doing that. We need justice,” said neighbor Jayyidah Nelson. 

The mother says she recognized the woman’s face because she has seen her around the neighborhood many times, but hasn’t seen her since the incident.

“Everything just happened too fast. One second I had my head towards my daughter and once I turned it, she was pushed to the ground. You actually see the lady just skipping like nothing was happening. She was screaming gibberish in the streets,” said the mother. 

Police say the suspect is around 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 130 pounds. She was last seen wearing a white shirt, black shorts and red sneakers.

Little Scarlet had trouble sleeping the night after it happened, according to her mother. 

“It’s either she gets off the streets or it’s just going to happen to the next person and I wouldn't wish this upon no mother, no parent at all,” said Bernard.