(SUISUN CITY, Calif.) A California father was arrested Monday afternoon after he was seen on surveillance video abandoning his newborn in a Suisun City strip mall, police said. The baby was then flown to a hospital in Oakland later in the night after officials noticed abnormalities in the infant's eye.
Daniel Stephen Mitchell, 18, was taken into custody in Fairfield a short time later after running from a car crash, Suisun City police said. He is accused of leaving his baby in the shopping center around 3:15 p.m.
The baby, who is 16-days-old, was rescued by the owners of nearby businesses.
Barber Erick Keeton was working on a client and saw the car seat in the parking lot and went to it. That's when he saw the baby still inside. The barber then picked up the car seat, took it inside and called the police.
"I noticed he had his binky, he was wrapped up in a blanket, he had a diaper on and he appeared to be fine," Keeton said. "His tongue was a little white maybe like he just had a bottle recently."
"You know somebody, God forbid, could have hit the child. Anything would have happened out there. It's super hot out there and he just left the baby in the sun. So that was very heartbreaking," said store owner Karan Grewal.
Police are questioning the baby's mother to see if she was in on the plan to abandon the child.
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