Shawville woman charged with kidnapping an eight-day-old baby in Ottawa

Shawville woman charged with kidnapping an eight-day-old baby in Ottawa

A 32-year-old Shawville woman, Nicole Shanks, was arrested and later charged with abducting an eight-day-old baby yesterday (May 9).

Nicole Shanks, 32, went to the home of a woman she met online in a new moms Facebook group, the Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Unit of the Ottawa police said.

After going to bring her a gift at her home in West Ottawa on Friday, she returned on Sunday with the intention of abducting the child. She then broke into the residence, pushed the three occupants away with bear repellent spray and grabbed the infant.

It was a neighbor, alerted by the noise, who located Nicole Shanks and forcibly detained her while the Ottawa police could intervene. The newborn baby was taken care of by paramedics and suffered no injuries.

Nicole Shanks was arrested and charged with kidnapping a person under the age of fourteen, assault with a weapon, break and entering and harassment.