SUBURBAN WEST PALM BEACH, FL--A dental surgeon is under arrest after the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office says he left his 8-month-old baby in his running vehicle while he went into Flashdance, a local strip club.
"Our concern, what if somebody broke into the car and stole the car not knowing there was a baby? What if something like a gunshot happened in the parking lot, which is not unusual. The baby could be hit by a stray bullet," said Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Talal Masri.
Deputies say Omar Abdo entered the club shortly after midnight. A deputy on a foot patrol in the 4400 block of Purdy Lane noticed a white Jeep Cherokee with all four windows rolled up, doors locked and the keys in the ignition with the engine running. The deputy could hear a baby crying from inside the vehicle. He noticed a baby seat in the back of the vehicle with a white blanket partially covering the seat.
Parking lot security told deputies that the driver of the vehicle was inside of the club. Once inside the club, deputies met with management who pointed out Abdo. According to deputies, Abdo was dressed in dental scrubs and sitting in the company of an adult entertainer.
Abdo had a second set of keys on him which a deputy used to open the vehicle. The 8 month old baby was found face down crying hysterically in the bassinet in the back seat.
"I don't want to think the worst could have happened but the baby was very fortunate." You hear all these horror stories of babies dying in vehicles. The position the baby was in could have suffocated, anything could have happened to that baby," said Deputy Bernardo Hernandez.
When Abdo was asked by deputies if he left his car running they said he responded he did because his baby was sleeping inside and he had only been in the club for a few seconds.
Video surveillance showed that Abdo had been in the club for about an hour. "For a parent to have a mind lapse with his judgment is not tolerated," said Deputy Timothy Farrington.
Abdo now faces child neglect, cruelty toward child and child endangerment.
