What to Know
- Two young boys, ages 2 and 6, who were spotted alone inside a Mercedes-Benz Tuesday morning were rescued by NYPD officers, officials say
- Officers didn't know how long they had been inside and scrambled to get to them with heat and humidity a major concern, police say
- The father of one of the boys and the mother to both were taken into custody and charges are pending, authorities say
Two young boys had to be rescued from inside a car early Tuesday after authorities were notified the kids had been alone inside the vehicle for, according to one witness, nearly an hour.
The NYPD says a passerby flagged down officers on foot patrol around 12:30 a.m. and told them the two children, ages 2 and 6, were inside a Mercedes-Benz on Seventh Avenue in midtown. Worried officers scrambled to get inside the vehicle, concerned about above-average temperatures and lingering humidity. It was about 70 degrees overnight in the city.
Police were able to open the Mercedes and get the boys out, officials said. They were taken to an area hospital for observation. They appeared to be OK, but seemed frightened by all the emergency activity around them, officials said.
A 38-year-old man, who is the father to one of the boys, and a 28-year-old woman, who is the mother to both the kids, were inside a nearby building cleaning a unit at the time, police said. The man and woman had come outside after hearing the car alarm go off, which was about the same time the kids were taken out of the vehicle.
It was not immediately clear how long the boys had been inside the car, but a witness told NBC 4 New York he estimated the boys were in the backseat for about 40 minutes.
Both the man and the woman were taken into custody and later charged with acting in a manner injurious to a child under the age of 17. It's not clear who took custody of the children. Messages were left with ACS.
