NYC woman charged for abandoning newborn baby at Penn Station subway

Police in New York City have charged a woman with abandoning a newborn child at a subway stop.

Police say Assa Diawara, 30, of Queens, was the woman caught on camera before allegedly abandoning a baby girl who was found alive at Penn Station in Manhattan Monday morning.

She was arrested on charges of abandonment of a child and endangering the welfare of a child early Wednesday morning, an update from the New York Police Department said.

Police had asked the public for help identifying the woman seen on video carrying the baby.

POLICE RELEASE PHOTO OF SUSPECT WHO ABANDONED BABY WITH UMBILICAL CORD STILL ATTACHED

The infant was discovered around 9:30 a.m. local time Monday on the stairway leading to the southbound No. 1, 2, and 3 trains at the 34th Street–Penn Station stop, according to police reports. 

Officials were alerted after an anonymous caller reported seeing the baby left unattended on the steps at West 34th Street and 7th Avenue.

MOTHER’S STORY QUESTIONED BY AUTHORITIES AS 7-MONTH-OLD REMAINS MISSING AFTER ALLEGED KIDNAPPING

When first responders from the FDNY and NYPD arrived, they found the baby wrapped in a blanket, conscious and alert. The baby was then taken to Bellevue Hospital.

Her umbilical cord was still attached, FOX 5 New York reported. 

The identity of the infant’s parents has not yet been publicized.

Per New York’s Safe Haven Law, parents are allowed to legally and safely surrender newborns at hospitals, police precincts, or fire stations without facing criminal charges as long as the child is left in the care of responsible personnel.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this report.