Early Sunday morning in a Bronx neighborhood, Delfina Galvez, 26, faces charges for allegedly leaving an infant wrapped in blankets inside a tote bag outside an apartment on Reverend James A Polite Avenue. According to FOX 5, the child was found in stable condition and taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi for care.
In a disturbing incident, an infant girl was abandoned on the doorstep of a Bronx residence. The baby was found by Mamadou Hafiz Jallow, a local imam, who was alerted by a neighbor. Imam Jallow described finding the baby, saying, "When I opened the blanket, I see a little baby, blinking their eyes and shaking their fingers. Very cold," in an interview with CBS News. Surveillance video appears to show Galvez with the green tote bag containing the baby, setting it down several times before leaving it on the sidewalk.
Police charged Galvez with reckless endangerment and abandonment of a child after the infant was reported crying at 6 a.m.
One person expressed concern, saying, "Hearing that this is even a thing is very disturbing for this neighborhood," as told to FOX 5.
Jallow theorizes that the baby may have been left at his door due to his role as an imam. "They know me as an imam. I lead the prayers in this masjid for three years now. That may be the reason, but to be honest with you I don't know," he told CBS News. While New York's safe haven laws allow for newborns to be anonymously left at certain safe locations without fear of prosecution, this case falls outside the protections of that law, leading to criminal charges against Galvez.
"I just hope the baby to be well. That's the most important thing, and then the mother to be forgiven," Jallow reflected on the events in an interview with CBS News.
