BOCA RATON, Fla. – A newborn baby was found in a dumpster Wednesday morning at an apartment complex west of Boca Raton.
Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Teri Barbera said two people walking in the Alister Boca Raton apartments, formerly known as the Boca Entrada apartments, heard a baby crying and found the child in a dumpster just after 9 a.m.
"Who would leave a baby in a dumpster? But pray for them," Joe Altidore, who lives nearby, said.
Barbera said the baby girl was taken to an area hospital for evaluation but is expected to survive.
"This baby could've died," witness Shella Dominique said. "Thank God this baby is alive, but it could be worse. But it's so sad because I have four children myself."
Dominique told Local 10 News reporter Terrell Forney that she saw a crowd of people standing by as police and paramedics arrived at the apartment complex.
"It was the EMS truck coming and people were saying, 'The baby.' And then I saw the technician. It looked like the baby was wrapped, but I'm not sure, 100 percent," Dominique said.
"You mean in a blanket?" Forney asked.
"It looked like it, but I'm not sure, 100 percent," she said.
Some neighbors only saw the commotion, but others said they got a knock at their door from detectives who were searching for the mother or person responsible.
"And then like 30 minutes later, they (were) knocking on my door, talking (about) there was a newborn baby in a dumpster. So I don't know," Altidore said.
"There were cops everywhere and then they came to my door, and I think they thought it was me because I just had a baby," Krystal Malta said.
Malta said the news hit her hard because she just have birth to a baby girl a month ago. She and other residents who spoke with Forney said they could never imagine tossing out an infant with the trash.
"It's just horrifying. It's despicable, honestly," she said. "Like, I love her more than anything else. Like, I would give her the skin off my back if she needed it, and for somebody to just throw that into the trash, it's just so bad."
Detectives are investigating the incident.
"We are in the very preliminary stages of this investigation," Barbera said.