NYPD investigators are questioning a woman after a two-year-old boy was found unconscious and unresponsive at a midtown hamburger restaurant today. Details are scant at this point, but an NYPD spokesman confirmed that police were called to 5 Boro Burger on 6th Avenue at 2:15 p.m. and found the child unconscious. He was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
An unidentified woman is currently being questioned, but as of 6 p.m. no arrest has been made.
Police have not confirmed that the woman in custody is the boy's mother, but one source tells the Daily News that a restaurant patron walked into the restroom "and saw the mother holding her hand over the baby’s mouth, the mother said 'I put my hand over his mouth to put him to sleep.'"
CBS 2 reports that the 35-year-old woman locked herself in the bathroom with the boy and refused to open the door. Sources tell the news channel that "workers at the restaurant gained entry and found the boy unconscious and foaming at the mouth."
Reached by phone, a 5 Boro Burger employee declined to comment on the incident. We'll update as more information becomes available.
