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Harrowing: Tornado Rips Baby From Arms Of His Caretaker

Jonathan Robinson with three-month-old Ayden in his arms.
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ABC News
Jonathan Robinson with three-month-old Ayden in his arms.

Jonathan Robinson could feel the wind from inside his trailer in Dunn, N.C. One of the 62 tornadoes reported in North Carolina over the weekend was headed his way.

He did what came naturally: The 21-year-old picked his cousin's three-month-old baby and ran to a closet. Robinson spoke to NPR's Michele Norris for today's edition of All Things Considered. What happened next is simply harrowing, and we'll let him tell the story:

The force of the winds tore apart the trailer around him and ripped the baby out of his arms. Next thing Robinson knew he was digging out of the rubble.

More than 20 people died because of the storms on Saturday. By some miracle, perhaps, Ayden, the three-month-old, survived. Robinson heard him cry and found that he was dusty and dirty, but without a scratch on him.

Tune into your local NPR member station to listen to the full interview. We'll post the as-aired version of the interview later today.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Eyder Peralta is an international correspondent for NPR. He was named NPR's Mexico City correspondent in 2022.
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