By: Sharon Aron Baron
A Tamarac woman who was threatening to kill an infant with a knife was disarmed by quick-acting Broward Sheriff Office deputies on the scene.
Shortly before 11:30 p.m. Thursday at the 8000 block of Northwest 96th Terrace, Lorraine Drayton, 33, was arguing with her ex-boyfriend Gary Hunter, 35, The dispute intensified, and Drayton started biting him when he tried to stop her from getting to two children who were in the home.
Drayton then grabbed a knife from the kitchen and retreated to the master bedroom with a four-month-old boy and barricaded herself and the child in the bathroom, threatening to kill the infant.
BSO deputies responded to the scene at the Coral Vista apartments and tried to coax Drayton from the bathroom. When negotiations failed and concerns for the infant’s safety grew, they forced the bathroom door open and saw her sitting on the floor holding the little boy pointing the knife toward the deputies, while threatening to harm the infant if they approached. When she stood up and turned the knife toward the infant, a deputy with BSO’s Quick Response Force fired a round from his less-lethal shotgun, striking her in the leg. The shot failed to stop Drayton, and another deputy deployed his taser. She was then taken into custody without further incident.
The deputies were able to save the child from being harmed, and Drayton sustained a minor injury from the bean-bag round.
After Drayton was medically cleared, she was booked at BSO’s Main Jail on child abuse and domestic violence charges. She also had an active warrant for obstruction without violence.
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