Being unprepared to have a child can cause people to make distressing decisions. When people are put in stressful situations, they are not always able to make the most clear-headed choices, and those choices can have dire consequences.
Earlier this week, a newborn baby was found in a Houston-area dumpster. The case is still under investigation, but shockingly, there have been similar cases in the area in the last month, showing a dangerous trend.
The newborn was found near an apartment complex
Houston news affiliate ABC13 reported that local police had responded to a call on Sunday, July 21, at around 2 p.m. Someone had called them after hearing a baby crying near a dumpster behind an apartment complex. The news outlet spoke with the apartment manager, who shared that there had been a taco truck in the vicinity.
A bystander recorded the rescue
ABC13 exclusively shared footage from a witness who filmed the rescue. In the video, EMS can be seen taking the baby out of the dumpster, which was full of trash, and wrapping it in a blanket. The baby, who has been identified as a boy, still had wet hair, an intact umbilical cord, and looked pink and pruned. EMS reported that the baby was inside of a bag, alive and alert.
There was an initial suspect
The apartment manager told the news that he suspected the baby had been abandoned by a taco truck employee. He believed that the employee gave birth inside the taco truck and left the baby in the dumpster before returning to clean up the truck.
Returning to the scene, the news outlet found the Houston police focusing their attention on the taco truck, interviewing employees and the owners. According to the apartment manager, the taco truck had been in the neighborhood for about three months.
Police are still investigating the situation, but have identified the suspect
After the rescue, the newborn was taken to the hospital, where he was said to be in good health. Child Protective Services has since taken custody of him.
ABC News spoke with Houston Police Department spokesperson Jodi Silva, who confirmed that the police had identified a suspect in the case. The police have been watching surveillance footage in an effort to find out any information about who may have left the baby in the dumpster. And as a result, they were able to identify the suspect, and “are continuing to work through the investigation,” according to Silva.
This isn’t the only abandoned baby case in the area recently
This latest abandoned baby is one of three in the past month, according to ABC13. The first case was in June, when a man heard a baby crying as he was walking down a road. After finding a newborn, he called police.
A second case involved a woman who was found covered in blood and revealed that she had given birth half a mile away. She was charged with abandoning a child.
“It’s heartbreaking every time we see it,” Houston Fire Department employee Martee Boose told the outlet. Boose shared a reminder of the Baby Moses Law, that allows parents to leave children up to 60 days old at a fire station, police station, or hospital without facing repercussions.
Child Protective Services shared that in the past 11 months, five children were abandoned and three were turned in through the Baby Moses Law in the Houston area.