Man charged after baby struck by concrete block in Englewood

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A South Side man is due in bond court Friday, accused of throwing a chunk of concrete through a window, which struck a 7-month-old girl in the head.

Jeremy O'Neal, 25, of the 9500-block of South Houston Avenue, was arrested Thursday and charged with aggravated battery stemming from the May 3 incident, officials said.

The baby, Jamyah Lee, spent two days in the hospital and was treated for skull fractures, internal bleeding and brain swelling.

"I'm just glad the police do their job," said Patricia Hicks, the baby's grandmother. "It's the way it should be."

The incident happened at about 8:30 p.m. May 3 when O'Neal was looking for a woman he was angry with, prosecutors said. He went to a home in the 1400-block of West 73rd Place in the city's Englewood neighborhood on the South Side. When O'Neal was told the woman was not there, investigators said O'Neal threw a concrete block through a window.

The baby was playing on a bed inside the home when the incident occurred. She was taken to Comer Children's Hospital, where doctors treated her for.

The family said that Jamyah may have to take medication to prevent seizures.

"I don't let what happen frighten me in my own home," Hicks said. "That's where I got to be safe and that's where I'm going to be safe."