This is the disturbing moment a teenager abandoned her newborn baby in a restaurant before fleeing.
CCTV footage shows the young girl in a black coat and blue jeans walking into the Mexican eatery in New Jersey, US with her baby in her arms.
She then sits at a table when customer Alease Scott, who happened to be CPR trained, asks if she can check the child’s vitals.
But as soon as the teen hands Alease the baby, she walks out of the restaurant and does not return.
The baby’s umbilical cord was still partially attached when she was abandoned.
Frankie Aguilar, who works at the El Patron restaurant in Jersey City, said the teenager was asking for help when she came in on Wednesday afternoon (May 19).
"She kind of looked a little bit desperate," he said.
The mum, who has not been identified due to her age, is believed to have only just given birth.
Recalling the incident, Alease told ABC 7: “I said do you mind if I check the baby's vitals, she readily handed the baby over to me so my focus went right onto the baby.”
She asked to help after noticing the baby was struggling to breathe and so applied an oxygen mask.
"All of a sudden we heard the most beautiful cry and the baby started moving, she slightly opened up her eyes and then she closed her eyes," Alease added.
"But the sweetest thing was when she got hungry and she was trying to suckle on the oxygen mask so we knew she was OK after that.”
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As the footage shows, police soon arrived and the child was then taken to Jersey City Medical Center.
Her young mum was found nearby and was also taken to the hospital. Both mother and child are doing well.
The child, police said, will be put up for adoption and the parent is not facing any charges.
New Jersey has a Safe Haven Infant Protection law, which allows parents to give up their unwanted newborns anonymously at a hospital, police station, or firehouse.
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