A dad is in hot water after allegedly leaving his one-year-old daughter in his car while he was shopping at Costco for over an hour on a warm day.
The dad, who has been named as Amr Kotb, 38, allegedly left his daughter in the car unattended and went shopping at Costco in Cypress, in Harris County, in the US state of Texas, on Thursday, 16th March.
With temperatures reaching 23 degrees Celsius (73.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in Cypress on Thursday, witnesses were apparently concerned about the child’s safety.
Young children left in cars on warm days often experience heatstroke, as the temperature inside the vehicle rises faster than the temperature outside.
The police were called and the suspect, who returned to his vehicle, reportedly fled the scene with the child on his lap in the driver’s seat.
He was later arrested and has been charged with child abandonment.
Newsflash obtained a statement from Mark Herman, a Harris County Constable for the Fourth Precinct, dated 17th March and saying: “On March 16, 2023, deputies with Constable Mark Herman’s Office responded to the Costco located in the 26000 block of the Northwest Freeway in reference to a welfare check of a child left unattended in a locked vehicle.
“Upon arriving, witnesses stated that the father returned to the vehicle, grabbed the child from the back seat and placed her on his lap in the driver’s seat and fled from the scene.”
The statement added: “Costco employees were able to provide video surveillance which captured the male parking at the business at 2:38pm and entering with his spouse and their two other children.
“At 3:40pm, a witness arrived to the business and parked next to the vehicle and observed the child asleep and unattended.
“During the investigation, a witness observed the male suspect return to business with the child to pick up his spouse and two other children. He was detained and identified as Amr Kotb and the child was identified as a 1-year-old girl.”
Constable Herman said: “Amr Kotb was arrested and booked into the Harris County Jail, charged with Abandoning a Child with the Intent to Return. His bond was set at USD 1,000 out of the 174th District Court. The child was released to her mother in good health.”
The investigation is ongoing. The child and her mother have not been named.
