Community Corner

Baby Left At Jersey City Restaurant: Aftermath Caught On Video

The customers who were handed a newborn baby while at a restaurant went live on Facebook after the teenage mother ran off.

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Two customers at El Patron restaurant in Jersey City went live on Facebook on Wednesday after they were handed a newborn baby by a teenage girl, who then ran out of the establishment.

Walter Cocoa filmed the aftermath of the incident while his friend, Alease Scott, cradled the baby. The 17-minute video has gained over 600,000 views and shows shots of the infant as well as the police arriving and tending to the infant.

The baby was taken to the hospital and is in good health, according to city officials. The girl, who is 14, was found near the restaurant and taken to the hospital as well and is in good health, officials said.

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No charges have been filed.

"You probably won’t believe this, this is crazy, we’re having lunch and a woman left her baby — A woman leaves her baby as we are sitting having lunch," Cocoa said in the video.

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Cocoa has continued posting videos with updates and reactions — in a video released on Wednesday, Scott explains some moments leading up to the hand-off of the baby.

"A young girl comes in, and she says 'I need help' — I noticed that she has this baby wrapped up in a towel, and so I immediately get up, and I said 'Would you mind if I check the baby's vitals?' and she readily handed the baby over to me," Scott said.

She added that she told the restaurant to call an ambulance for the baby and noticed that the girl had blood on her leg, piecing together that she was the baby's mother. Cocoa said in the video that the teen's parents are aware of the baby.

"This is not about shaming that young lady, that's not what this is about," Cocoa said.

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