N.Y.C. Woman Charged After Allegedly Leaving 'Very Cold' Baby in Tote Bag on Imam's Doorstep

A New York City woman has been charged after allegedly leaving a baby on an imam’s doorstep in the Bronx.

A spokesperson for the New York Police Department confirmed to PEOPLE that Delfina Galvez, 26, was arrested on Monday, Dec. 30 and now faces charges of abandonment of a child, reckless endangerment (first degree) and acting in a manner injurious to a child after allegedly leaving a female infant outside of a residence in the Bronx on Sunday, Dec. 29.

Per the NYPD, the baby girl was left “wrapped in blankets within a tote bag in front of a residence” at around 6 a.m. local time.

Surveillance footage, shared by CBS News New York, shows a woman apparently carrying the child in a tote bag on Reverend James A. Polite Avenue before appearing in the frame again without the bag. The outlet identified the woman, later revealed by police to be Galvez, as the baby’s mother.

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“It’s crazy. How do you leave a baby like this in the street?” resident Fatou Sair said, per CBS News New York.

Mamadou Hafiz Jallow, who was at a mosque down the street when the infant was left at his doorstep, told CBS News New York that his “next-door neighbor” called him to let him know that there was a baby crying at his door.

He then rushed home and called 911 after bringing the baby inside. Jallow, who said that he is known as an imam and has led prayer for three years at the mosque, detailed that the baby was “very cold” when he discovered her. “When I opened the blanket, I see a little baby, blinking their eyes and shaking their fingers,” he said.

While Jallow said his work “may be the reason” that the infant was left at his door, he added that he didn’t know why the baby was left at his residence.

The infant was later taken to Jacobi Medical Center via an ambulance and, per the NYPD, was listed “in stable condition. She “remains in the care of hospital staff” as of this past week, the NYPD added.

“Hearing that this is even a thing is very disturbing for this neighborhood,” one resident told FOX 5 New York.

According to the NYPD, Galvez lives near the location where she allegedly left the infant. Per New York laws, as cited by CBS News New York, newborn babies can be left at hospitals, police stations and firehouses with no criminal charges filed.

“I just hope the baby to be well. That’s the most important thing, and then the mother to be forgiven,” Jallow told the outlet.