The Mother of Baby Abandoned in Midtown NYC Subway Station Charged with Endangering a Child By Madison E. Goldberg

The mother of an infant abandoned in a midtown Manhattan subway station has been charged with endangerment of a child.

Assa Diawara, a resident of Queens, was arrested shortly after 3 a.m. local time on Wednesday, Oct. 22, and charged with abandoning and endangering a child. She was expected to appear in court later Wednesday, NBC News and ABC News reported.

The baby was reportedly found in a passageway at the 34th Street-Penn Station subway stop on Monday, Oct. 20, during rush hour, per NBC News. The station is attached to the Penn Station complex, a bustling transportation hub beneath Madison Square Garden.

PEOPLE has reached out to the NYPD for comment.

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Police reportedly located the woman after reviewing a two-second security camera video clip, in which she was allegedly seen on a city sidewalk carrying something that appeared to be wrapped in a bundle and holding it as a person would typically hold a baby.

Detectives then used the footage to follow Diawara, 30, to Jamaica, Queens, where she was reportedly dropped off. Authorities found a neighbor who recognized her from the surveillance footage, per ABC News. She later confessed to police that she left her daughter. Her motive for abandoning her daughter is unclear at this time.

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After receiving treatment a hospital, the infant child is in stable condition, ABC News reported. “I’m calling it the ‘Miracle on 34th Street,’ ” Demetrius Crichlow, president of New York City Transit, told reporters on Monday, alluding to the classic Christmas movie, according to NBC News.

A team from the city’s Administration for Children’s Services was “deployed to ensure the ongoing well-being of the baby,” a spokesperson told NBC News.

PEOPLE has reached out to the ACS for comment.

New York’s Abandoned Infant Protection Act permits a parent to abandon a newborn baby up to 30 days of age anonymously and without fear of prosecution, so long as they leave the child at an eligible location. These include staffed fire stations, police stations, or hospitals, according to the New York Office of Children and Family Services. The state enacted the law in 2000.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.