NEW YORK — The mother of a baby girl found abandoned at Penn Station in New York City earlier this week has been arrested.
Assa Diawara, 30, was located in Queens early Wednesday morning and arrested by police.
She is facing charges of abandonment of a child and endangering the welfare of a child. She expected to appear in court sometime Wednesday.
Police released a photo of the mother carrying the baby.
An anonymous tip led police to the child at the station on W. 34th Street and 7th Avenue just before 9:30 a.m. Monday.
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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