A baby girl was found abandoned inside a New York City subway station during the hectic rush hour on a busy Monday morning.
The baby was found alone on the southbound platform of the 34th Street-Penn Station stop of the 1/2/3 line just after 9:30 a.m. ET on Oct. 20, NBC’s WNBC in New York City reported.
Officers from the New York Police Department took the baby, who was described as “conscious and alert,” to Bellevue Hospital for evaluation, according to WNBC.
It’s unclear how long the baby had been left alone in the subway station, WNBC said.
The NYPD is now investigating the case. It is a felony in New York to abandon a child under the age of 14.
In July 2000, New York enacted the Abandoned Infant Protection Act, which allows a parent to anonymously abandon a newborn baby up to 30 days old legally as long as the baby is left in a safe place and in a “safe manner.”
According to the law, the parent must leave an infant with an appropriate person or in a suitable location — such as a hospital, a staffed police station or a fire station — and immediately notify an appropriate person of the baby’s whereabouts to avoid prosecution.