A Pennsylvania mom is facing multiple assault charges after police found her with an unconscious toddler in the aisles of Walmart. Samantha Fletcher was in the store with her twins and her son was allegedly crying a lot. Instead of trying to calmly handle the situation, Fletcher became physically violent with the boy in plain view of other customers inside the store. Some of them tried to step in and help the mother manage the situation, but it didn’t seem to change the approach she took with her children. Again, she became violent with the boy to the point that he lost consciousness. Now, she’s possibly facing time behind bars.
A fellow shopper called police.
Tullytown police were called to a Walmart for a well-being check on March 14, 2026, the department shared in a news release. When officers arrived at the store, they met with the man who called, and he told them a woman was screaming at two young children. She appeared to be under the influence.
The woman, whom police identified as 28-year-old Samantha Fletcher, was dragging one of the children around on the floor by a backpack leash while he cried hysterically.
Fletcher picked up the boy and dropped him into a shopping cart, which made him hit his head, the news release shared. At some point, the child lost consciousness.
Another shopper allegedly asked Fletcher if she needed help with the boy, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the Bucks County Courier Times, phillyburbs.com reported. Fletcher told the woman she could try.
The boy seemed to respond to the stranger’s kindness.
The woman allegedly picked up the boy, and he immediately rested his head on her shoulder. He also briefly stopped crying, the affidavit read. According to the affidavit, Fletcher “slammed” the boy into the shopping cart at least five times.
When police found Fletcher in the store, the little girl was asleep in the cart, and she was holding the unconscious boy in her arms. Medics were called to the store, but they were unable to awaken him. The boy had a large, visible bruise on his forehead.
“We didn’t know how long the kid had been unconscious or unresponsive at that point so we knew it was serious,” Tullytown Police Officer John Crichton, who was the first to respond, told Fox 29. “One of the kids was attached to like a backpack leash and was laying on the ground and the mom was under distress, trying to calm the kids down, dragging the kid around,” he added.
The police officer turned on his body camera before speaking to Fletcher.
“I asked what was going on and she said the kid was out of control. And that he wouldn’t stop crying and that he fell asleep,” Crichton said.
In an attempt to deescalate the situation, he walked the family to the front of the store. That’s when he noticed the boy wasn’t moving. “He was more than asleep, so I called for medics to expedite to my location,” he explained, per Fox 29.
When medics arrived, they worked to “wake the kid up who needed immediate medical attention.” They couldn’t and took him to St. Mary Medical Center.
A CT scan was performed, which found that he had a serious concussion, according to the probable cause affidavit, the Courier Times reported.
After speaking with witnesses and confirming the boy’s head injuries, Fletcher was arrested. According to Fox 29, she had been living in a shelter with her twins. Child Protective Services was called to assist with the children, who were taken to the home of a relative.
Fletcher has been charged with three felony counts of aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, recklessly endangering another person, and simple assault. She is being held at the Bucks County Correctional Facility in lieu of a $100,000 bail.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child) or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
