Woman Abandons 7-Month-Old Baby In Brooklyn Mini Mart, Gets Arrested

KEY POINTS

A 32-year-old New York woman entered a Brooklyn store with her baby girl Friday and asked to use the bathroom
Security cameras captuted the mother leaving the store without her child
Police were called, and she was arrested on child abandonment charges

A mother from Brooklyn, New York, has been arrested after she allegedly abandoned her 7-month-old baby inside a small grocery store Friday.

Markishsa Greene, 32, was charged with abandonment of a child and acting in a manner injurious to a child, WABC reported.

Greene entered a Myrtle Avenue mini-market in Bushwick at around 7:15 p.m. Friday with a stroller containing her baby girl and asked to use the restroom, according to store owner Nbel Elcede. He said he sent his son to the bathroom nine minutes later to check on the woman, only to find that it was empty.

Surveillance cameras were able to solve the mystery of Greene's disappearance as they captured her walking past the stroller — which had been unattended since she went to the restroom — and leaving the store while several customers glanced at her.

"It's crazy. Nobody can do [it] like that, you know," the store owner said.

Following her departure, Elcede called 911 and waited with police to see if Greene would return to the store to pick up her child. She never did.

"And the lady who came in here, look, is a nice lady, and now why [did] you do that? Maybe a problem with the husband maybe. I don't know," Elcede remarked.

The baby is unharmed and is now under the care of New York City's Administration for Children's Services.

A similar incident occurred last Wednesday in Jersey City, New Jersey, when a 14-year-old mother left her newborn at a restaurant.

Security cameras at Mexican restaurant El Patron captured the 4 p.m. encounter, and footage showed the teen giving her baby to a customer before fleeing the area.

The child was taken to a hospital while police located the mother shortly after. City officials said both were in good condition.

No charges were filed against the mother over the incident. The child will be put up for adoption.

Both states of New York and New Jersey have laws that allow individuals to surrender their unwanted infants below 30 days old to authorities free of arrest or prosecution.