A newborn was found in a trash can at a gas station in Fullerton, California, on Thursday afternoon and taken to a hospital.
When officials arrived at the scene in the 900 block of W. Orangethorope Avenue that afternoon, they found the approximately 1-hour-old baby crying in the restroom, Fox 11 reported.
According to Sergeant Ryan O’Neil of the Fullerton Police Department, officers located the baby in a trash can. They promptly began life saving measures. Once the fire department responded, they transported the baby to the hospital for treatment.
Right now, the baby is in critical but stable condition, the police department noted in a social media post.
The agency also said the investigation is ongoing:
The Safely Surrendered Baby Law was signed permanently into state law in January of 2006. The law’s intent is to save lives of newborn infants at risk of abandonment by encouraging parents or [a] person with lawful custody to safely surrender the infant within 72 hours of birth, with no questions asked.
The Safely Surrendered Baby Law requires the baby be taken to a public or private hospital, designated fire station or other safe surrender site designated by the County Board of Supervisors.
An employee at the gas station found the baby and notified authorities of the discovery.
“It’s an active investigation. They’re working all possible leads to do all they can to solve this issue,” O’Neil explained.
Aerial video footage shows the Chevron gas station on the corner of W. Orangethorpe Avenue and S. Euclid Street, where the newborn was found.
KCAL News reported the infant is a little boy:
Police are currently searching for the mother by reviewing security camera footage, according to the outlet.
It remained unclear where the mother gave birth to the baby.
“I think that would be a tragic event for anybody who was put in that situation. But for everybody out there, we’d like them to know there are laws that regulate safe surrender for parents that do not want their child, and they have 72 hours to make that decision,” O’Neil told reporters.
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