Father of 4-month-old baby girl attacked by raccoon gives emotional interview

NORTH PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - A 4-month-old baby girl was attacked by a raccoon in a North Philadelphia apartment, according to her family. The little girl was dragged from her bed by the animal.

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES

The pictures of 4-month-old Journi Black are hard to look at. A deep wound what seems to be claw marks around her face and forehead. There's also a gash near her eye.

"I thought it was a nightmare when I heard over the phone. My heart dropped. I didn't know what to say, what to think," dad, Samuel Black, said.

He says it was between 10 and 11 p.m. Wednesday night when the child's mom, Ashley Rodgers, took her 6-year-old to the bathroom in her North 22nd Street one-room apartment.

The mom says she returned to horror.

"She was laying on the floor-- across the room -- blood all over her face and her pjs," her mom said.

She says the raccoon pulled the child from the bed onto the floor. She was rushed to Temple and then to St. Christopher for surgery. The child's face needed 65 stitches, according to the family.

Back at 2141 North 22nd, neighbors complain of a raccoon infestation. City records say the property is owned by Jihad Simpson. Tax documents show $23,000 in back-taxes are owed, but the city says Simpson is in a payment program and up-to-date.

According to City Licenses and Inspections, Simpson has no license to rent and told L&I he doesn't, but Ashley Rodgers tells FOX 29 she moved in on Tuesday and paid $375.

Animal control searched the area for raccoons Thursday. Calls to Simpson have not been returned.