Police: Newborn baby found on top of garbage can in Chicago alley
CHICAGO — Police say a newborn baby boy was found on top of a garbage can in a Chicago neighborhood Tuesday afternoon, according to WGN.
Police said the baby was found in an alley on the 1700 block of North Keystone Avenue around 4 p.m. on top of a garbage can and wrapped in a blanket.
According to Chicago fire officials, people who lived nearby heard the baby crying, went to the alley and found the child. The people who found him, a woman and her daughter, then took the baby to a fire station.
The baby was just hours old and still had an umbilical cord attached. The cord was not clamped, and the baby was bleeding when he was found.
A fire department spokesman said when the baby was brought to the station he was “blue, unresponsive, no pulse.” They shocked the baby back to life. Two paramedics performed CPR while transporting the newborn to Norwegian American Hospital where he was stabilized.
Fire officials said the baby was "crying and kicking" and was transferred to Lurie Children's Hospital.
"I don't know what it's like to have a child, be pregnant, and be in some horrible circumstances where you are driven to do something like this. It almost sounds diabolical," Patrick Fitzmaurice, paramedics field chief, said. "But come to us, call 911. We would've taken the baby to one hospital and her to another hospital. We won't judge. Don't leave your baby in an alley. Come to a firehouse. Leave the baby there. Give the kid a chance."
Illinois' Safe Haven laws allow anyone to drop off a baby up to 30 days after giving birth to a hospital, police station or fire station — no questions asked.