Overview
- Assa Diawara, 30, was arraigned on charges of abandonment of a child and endangering the welfare of a child and was released on supervised release with a court date in December.
- A passerby found the baby in a passageway at the 34th Street–Penn Station subway station during Monday morning rush hour with the umbilical cord still attached, according to the criminal complaint.
- Surveillance video showed a woman entering the station with a bundled object and leaving without it, and investigators later identified Diawara, who admitted she left the newborn.
- Prosecutors say Diawara told police she gave birth late Oct. 19 into the early hours of Oct. 20 before leaving the child at the station around mid‑morning.
- Authorities say the baby received hospital care and is in stable condition, and the Administration for Children’s Services has been deployed; New York’s safe‑surrender law permits anonymous drop‑off only at staffed hospitals, police stations, or firehouses.