A father is in custody after his infant was stabbed and thrown into the snow in Coatesville on Wednesday, police said.
According to the Coatesville Police Department, on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, at around 11:30 a.m., police were called to an apartment on the 2000 block of Smithbridge Drive after receiving a report of a stabbing of an infant.
Upon arrival, police said, officers took the child’s father, 44-year-old Michael Phillips, into custody for stabbing his 3-month-old child in the abdomen.
An investigation revealed that after stabbing his child, Phillips then took the infant outside and threw him in the snow, police said.
The child is in serious condition and was flown to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to undergo surgery, according to police.
A motive is still being determined by investigators, but neighbors of Phillips say that he lived with a partner and other children inside his home.
Neighbors also said the incident is out of character for Phillips.
One of his neighbors, Edward Rivers, said that he saw Phillips with the infant and his 13-year-old son at around 8 a.m. on Wednesday.
“He’s always been a quiet, nice guy,” Rivers said. “Every time I see him, he says, ‘What’s up.’ This morning I saw him. He walked outside with his son and I saw him. He smiled to me, said goodbye like normal and walked out. To me it was surprising, because he seemed like a really nice guy. He was really a good neighbor.”
Another neighbor, Robert Boyd, also said he saw Phillips this morning and that he was shocked by the incident.
“I was shocked when I came back home and saw all the police here,” Boyd said. “I was talking to him for five minutes this morning and didn’t detect anything like that or anything going on with him.”
Phillips remains in custody on Wednesday night and is awaiting a preliminary hearing in front of a judge. No attorney for Phillips is currently listed in court dockets