U.S.

NYPD: Woman Abandoned Baby On Subway Platform

A 20-year-old woman was arrested by police, who claim she abandoned a baby on a subway.

NYPD: Woman Abandoned Baby On Subway Platform
CNN / NYPD

Police say a 20-year-old woman abandoned a baby in a stroller on a subway platform in New York Monday.

"Police had released this surveillance video of a woman they say pushed the stroller off a train at Columbus Circle ... then got back on the train without the child."

"It's heartbreaking."

News outlets couldn't seem to agree on the woman's relationship to the child. She has yet to be publicly identified by police.

Although some media outlets are assuming the woman arrested is the baby's mother. Like here on WNYW, you can see the text says 'mother of abandoned girl caught.'

Other outlets were a little more careful, never calling the baby the woman's child, like here in The New York Times.

WCBS reports the woman has actually admitted to being the child's mother, but then still labeled her 'woman' in the video. 

After she got off the subway, someone reportedly recognized her from photos released by law enforcement and called police. Investigators then took the woman in for questioning.

The child was thought to be around seven months old. And while the child would be too old for New York's Safe Haven law, the state does have one. Meaning, a baby, up to 30 days old, can be left with "any responsible person at a suitable location in New York." These laws decriminalize giving up a child.

Multiple reports say a bystander saw the stroller and stayed with the child for about 20 minutes before deciding to call police. The child is in the care of the Administration for Children's Services.