Police in Northeast Philadelphia found a naked 6-year-old boy in a dog cage Thursday afternoon.
Investigators say police were called just before 1 p.m. on a report of someone screaming, KYW reports. When they arrived, they found a 4-year-old girl and a 5-year-old girl, both partially naked, outside.
Inside, they found the boy in the dog cage, where his mother had left him with a pillow and a blanket when she went out.
DEVELOPING: Two men spotted carrying away a dog cage from a home on Glenview Street. @CBSPhiladelphia https://t.co/MiwjpzGJR3
— Alicia Roberts (@ARobertsCBS) March 23, 2023
An elderly woman who uses a wheelchair — identified as the children’s grandmother — and a man identified as their uncle were also in the home.
Five children live at the home, police said, but two of them were at school when officers arrived.
“We don’t know entirely everything that’s going on here,” Philadelphia Police Public Information Officer Eric Gripp said, according to WCAU. “We have a long investigation ahead of us. But obviously we don’t live in a world where under any situation whatsoever we should have a child inside of a cage or young children outside standing in the rain.”
The children were taken to St. Christopher’s Hospital but appeared to be physically well. They will remain in the custody of DHS.
Investigators are talking with the children’s mother and trying to identify the father. No charges have been filed.
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[Featured image: KYW screenshot]