Cops have found the 1-year-old boy who was in a car when it was stolen in Crown Heights Monday, according to authorities.
“Thank you everyone! We have located the child and he has been reunited with his mother and father,” read a tweet posted by NYPD Patrol Borough Brooklyn North.
The car, a white Mitsubishi with a New York license plate (HYB 6531), was stolen around 7:15 p.m. at Dean Street and Kingston Avenue, according to a police spokesman.
NYPD Assistant Chief Jeffrey Maddrey, speaking at a press conference after the boy had been found, said an unknown male walked up to the vehicle — which had been idling after the boy’s mother went into a store to buy groceries — entered the vehicle and pulled off.
“The mother immediately came out of the store and realized her vehicle was missing, called 911 and units from the 77th Precinct responded to the location and began to conduct an investigation,” Maddrey said.
The commanding officer of the precinct immediately called a level one mobilization requesting a strategic response group and members of the detective bureau, according to Maddrey.
As the search progressed, Maddrey said more units — ranging from K9 units to the counterterrorism unit — were called to aid in the investigation and the New York State Police issued an amber alert.
Two hours into the search at approximately 9 p.m., officers discovered the vehicle parked and running 11 blocks from where it was stolen at Park Place and Ralph Avenue.
Maddrey said some neighbors had identified the car and flagged down an officer, who recovered the baby.
The boy appears to be unharmed, Maddrey said, but EMS was looking at him at the scene and was going to transport him to the hospital as a precaution.
Detectives are canvassing the neighborhood and looking for video and for witnesses who can help as the investigation continues, according to Maddrey.
