A suspect tied to the brutal stabbings of a woman and a one-year-old boy in Center City, Philadelphia, is now in police custody, NBC Philadelphia reports. The unsettling events began yesterday morning when a 24-year-old woman was attacked without warning on 1300 Chancellor Street. According to officials, she was stabbed in the chest and hand by another woman, who fled the scene immediately after the incident.

The victim of this first assault was treated at a hospital and has since been released. Hours later, in an incident that chilled the community to its core, a couple strolling their twin babies were accosted, and one of the infants was stabbed in both arms by the same woman described earlier. Afterward, the assailant escaped, but dropped a black bag containing items that would later lead to a breakthrough in the case, according to CBS News Philadelphia.

The second stabbing took place near the Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel, a key landmark on the 300 block of South 18th Street. "When the husband chased the person of interest after the child was stabbed the offender dropped the [black] bag. Inside the bag, we recovered some information that is leading us to a suspect," said the police. The injured child was quickly transported to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and is currently listed in stable condition, as reported by CBS News.

In the wake of these horrifying events, sentiments of fear and disbelief have echoed through the community. "Horrible, it's so crazy," Samantha Schwartz lamented in an interview with Action News. She expresses a sense of lost security, stressing, "I used to feel comfortable walking in this area and now I don't at any time." Andy Shull from Rittenhouse also voiced his distress, "I think something needs to be done about this and what's going on, is uncalled for."

The Philadelphia Police are urging anyone with further information to step forward as the investigation into these cruel attacks continues. The identity of the suspect in custody has not yet been released to the public. This series of violent incidents marks a somber chapter for Center City, a place long considered one of Philadelphia's bustling hubs of urban life—now punctured by the sharp fear of unpredictable violence.