NEW YORK — The mother of an infant girl discovered abandoned at Penn Station earlier this week has been taken into custody, according to New York City authorities.
Police apprehended 30-year-old Assa Diawara in Queens early Wednesday morning. She now faces charges including child abandonment and endangering the welfare of a child. Diawara is scheduled to make a court appearance later on Wednesday.
A photo of Diawara holding the baby was released by the police to assist in the investigation.
The infant was found around 9:30 a.m. on Monday, thanks to an anonymous tip that directed officers to the scene at the busy station located at W. 34th Street and 7th Avenue.
The baby, wrapped in a blanket, was discovered at the base of a staircase leading down to the 1/2/3 subway platform.
The baby girl was found wrapped in a blanket at the bottom of a staircase leading to the 1/2/3 train platform.
Police say surveillance video shows Diawara outside Penn Station.
The baby was taken to a local hospital by police where she was said to be in stable condition.
New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow called that “the miracle on 34th Street.”
“I’m calling it the ‘Miracle on 34th Street,’ the FDNY and police department responded, they found a baby that was unattended,” Crichlow said. “The baby was taken to the hospital and is in stable condition, we don’t have any other additional information on top of that, but just grateful for the work of the NYPD for responding and caring for the baby.”
New York’s Safe Haven Law was created to protect unwanted babies, allowing parents to legally and anonymously abandon a newborn. The baby has to be under 30 days old and left in a suitable location like a hospital or a staffed police or fire station.
The baby can be left in a Safe Haven Baby Box but someone most be notified. To get help or find a location, there is a Safe Haven hotline — 1-888-510-BABY.
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