A Seymour man is under arrest after being accused of battering his girlfriend and their 2-month old child in a Columbus shopping mall Monday night.

Sgt. Matt Harris, spokesman for the Columbus Police Department, says that officers were called to the mall at 7:15 p.m. Monday after a witness reported hearing a woman screaming for help in the parking lot and saw a man striking a woman while the woman held a baby.

Harris said the victim told police that 27-year-old Dustin M. Keefer had been drinking all day and that the two got into an argument in the vehicle during which Keefer allegedly threw a cigarette lighter that struck the baby in the head. Harris said that she also accused Keefer of dragging the baby from the car by the child’s leg.

When police tried to speak with the suspect, Keefer allegedly ran away. After he was caught he was allegedly found to have a blood alcohol level of .324 percent, which would be four times the legal limit for driving.

The baby was checked by paramedics and released back to her mother

Keefer was arrested on preliminary charges including resisting law enforcement, public intoxication, neglect of a dependent, battery on a victim under the age of 14 and domestic battery in the presence of a minor.