Distressing footage of mum 'abandoning girl, 4, on footpath'
Disturbing CCTV shows a four-year-old girl lagging behind her mother on the streets of New York moments before she was allegedly abandoned in the middle of the night.
The little girl, named Sidaya, was found alone about midnight (local time) on Saturday in the Bronx borough, according to the New York Police Department.
Police say her mother, 32-year-old Sadeekah Abdul Salaam, abandoned her daughter prior to heading to a homeless shelter for a place to stay, New York publication Daily News reported.
🚨UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: On 2/27/21 at approx 12:03 AM, at the corner of Prospect Ave & E 156 St in the Bronx, the child was found unaccompanied. She says her name is Sidaya and is approx 4-years-old. Any info on her identity, please call or DM @NYPDTips at 800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/Ta8vNVukBY
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) February 28, 2021
She was found about four blocks from where the CCTV shows the mother walking ahead of her daughter.
The video shows Saleem looking back to Sidaya as she dawdles behind on a zebra crossing before turning her back and walking on.
Sidaya was wearing just a sweatshirt as temperatures dropped to 4C.
Salaam was arrested on Monday and charged with abandonment of a child, acting in a manner injurious to a child and reckless endangerment.
Sidaya remains in the care of child services.
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