Update: Mom Faces Abuse Charge After Forcing Son Out Window

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A 32-year-old St. Petersburg woman faces child abuse charges after police say she armed herself with a shotgun and forced her 7-year-old son to jump from a second-story window.

The woman followed behind the child.

The incident unfolded Thursday around 6:38 a.m. when officers were called out to 335 7th Ave. N., Apt. 8.

The caller, identified as Michelle Vail, told police a former boyfriend was outside her door and she was afraid he was there to kill her. Vail, an email from the department stated, also said that she was armed.

When officers arrived, Vail refused to open the door and appeared “distraught and seemed mentally unstable,” the email from police stated.

“At some point they could hear the screams of a child inside the apartment and as officers forced their way in the front door, Vail and her seven year old son, Oscar Vail, apparently jumped out the 2nd floor window to the ground below.”

Vail and her son were both taken to the hospital for treatment. Michelle Vail, police report, suffered superficial injuries. Oscar Vail is being kept for observation, but there are no signs of serious injuries.

Detectives interviewed Oscar Vail at the hospital and were told by the boy his mother said a “serial killer was coming to get them and he needed to jump out the window, which he did,” the email said.

The Vails had just relocated to St. Petersburg from Ormond Beach, the agency reported.

Vail now faces one count of aggravated child abuse. The state will coordinate custody of the child following his release from the hospital.

Photo courtesy of the St. Petersburg Police Department

Editor’s note: This story was updated March 5 at 11:52 a.m.