Mom admitted to giving birth hours before leaving newborn at New York subway station: Police
A baby was found on a subway platform in Manhattan, New York, on Oct. 20, 2025. (WABC)
(NEW YORK) — The woman charged with abandoning her newborn at a Midtown Manhattan subway station told investigators she gave birth just hours before she left the baby at the bottom of a staircase, according to court documents.
The baby girl was found wrapped in a blanket at the southbound 1 train platform at 34th Street-Penn Station during the Monday morning rush hour, the New York Police Department said. The umbilical cord was still attached, indicating she had likely been born within a few hours, according to the criminal complaint.
The baby was taken to the hospital in stable condition, police said, with New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow calling it “the miracle on 34th Street.”
Police said the mother, 30-year-old Assa Diawara, was caught on surveillance footage carrying a bundle in her arms through the turnstiles at the subway station. More footage showed her leaving the station empty-handed, the complaint said.
Diawara allegedly admitted she was the woman in the videos and said she gave birth late Sunday night into early Monday morning, the complaint said.
Diawara was taken into custody early Wednesday on charges of abandonment of a child and endangering the welfare of a child, police said.
Detectives identified her by following a trail of surveillance camera footage, an NYPD official said. Video showed Diawara taking a car service to Jamaica, Queens, and then investigators canvassed the area where she was dropped off and found a neighbor who recognized her from the surveillance footage, the official said.
Diawara has made her first court appearance and was granted supervised release. She is due to return to court in December.
New York’s Abandoned Infant Protection Act permits a parent to leave a newborn in a safe place — like a hospital, police station or fire station — up to 30 days after the baby’s birth. The parent would not be prosecuted and can remain anonymous as long as the baby is left in a safe place and the appropriate person is notified.
Stephen M. Katz/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
(VIRGINIA) — A Virginia jury found that an assistant principal acted with gross negligence when a then-6-year-old student shot his first grade teacher in a lawsuit filed over the 2023 shooting.
The jury awarded the teacher, Abby Zwerner, $10 million in damages, with award interest beginning on June 1, 2024.
The verdict comes after the jury began deliberations Wednesday afternoon in the high-profile civil case.
Zwerner was shot in January 2023 in her classroom at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia. Her complaint alleged the school’s assistant principal at the time, Ebony Parker, failed to act after being informed multiple times that her student had a firearm on the day of the incident and did not let staff search him prior to the shooting.
Parker did not react as the verdict was read in court on Thursday.
Zwerner’s attorneys said they are “very happy with the outcome.”
“I remember just three years ago, almost to this day, hearing for the first time Abby’s story and thinking that this could have been prevented,” one of the attorneys, Diane Toscano, told reporters outside the courthouse in Newport News. “So now to hear from a jury of her peers that they agree that this tragedy could have been prevented.”
When asked about the payment of the damages, one of Zwerner’s attorneys noted Parker is insured under an insurance policy for the Newport News School Board, but noted there are pending post-trial motions.
The civil complaint, which was seeking $40 million in damages, alleged Parker acted with gross negligence and in “reckless disregard” for Zwerner’s safety and claimed Zwerner continues to suffer pain and emotional distress over the shooting.
The bullet went through Zwerner’s left hand, which she had lifted, and then into her chest, where it remains. She was initially hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, police said.
“Those choices that she made to treat Jan. 6, 2023, like any other day, even though a gun should change everything, is why we’re here,” Zwerner’s attorney, Kevin Biniazan, said during closing arguments on Wednesday.
Biniazan argued there were multiple opportunities for Parker to investigate and take immediate action after several school workers “sounded the alarm” about a possible gun in the school. He said the defense will attempt to play the “blame game” and point the finger at others on staff, but each of them had a “piece of the puzzle” while Parker “had the entire puzzle.”
“A gun changes everything. You stop and you investigate,” he said. “You get to the bottom of it to know whether that gun is real and on campus so you can deal with it. But that’s not what happened.”
On the millions in damages sought, Biniazan asked the jurors, “What number do you arrive at for somebody who didn’t want this and it’s been inserted into her life like a bullet fragment against her spine?”
During the defense’s closing arguments, an attorney for Parker said the case is about “real-time judgments, not hindsight judgments,” and the low likelihood that a 6-year-old boy would have a firearm that day and shoot his teacher.
“It was a tragedy that, until that day, was unprecedented, it was unthinkable and it was unforeseeable, and I ask that you please not compound that tragedy by blaming Dr. Parker for it,” the defense attorney, Sandra Douglas, said.
Zwerner testified during the trial, which began in late October, recounting the moment she was shot.
“I thought I had died,” she recalled on the stand. “I thought I was either on my way to heaven or in heaven. But then it all got black and so I then thought I wasn’t going there.”
“My next memory is, I see two co-workers around me, and I process that I’m hurt, and they’re putting pressure on where I’m hurt,” she continued.
Parker did not testify during the trial.
Three other defendants initially listed in Zwerner’s complaint — two school administrators and the Newport News School Board — were dismissed from the lawsuit ahead of the civil trial.
Zwerner and Parker both resigned following the shooting. Zwerner said she has since completed a cosmetology program but has not yet started working as her hand heals following her most recent surgery.
Parker has also been charged with eight counts of felony child abuse with disregard for life in connection with the shooting — one count for each bullet that was in the gun, according to the Newport News Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office. A trial on the criminal charges is scheduled to start this month.
The student brought the gun from home, police said. His mother, Deja Taylor, was sentenced to two years in state prison for child neglect in connection with the shooting, which she is currently serving. Taylor was also sentenced to 21 months in prison on federal firearm and drug charges, which she has since served.
(NEW YORK) — Formal charges are expected to be announced Tuesday against Tyler Robinson, the person accused of assassinating conservative influencer Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray is set to hold a news conference to announce the charges against Robinson after they are filed in the late morning, according to Utah County officials.
Robinson is also scheduled to make his first court appearance on Tuesday.
Robinson was arrested last week for felony discharge of a firearm, aggravated murder and obstruction of justice, according to probable cause documents and was booked into the Utah County Jail.
Investigators are continuing to assess evidence, including looking at electronic devices the suspect may have had access to, as federal charges could be announced in the coming days, law enforcement officials told ABC News.
A motive has not been revealed by officials, despite Vice President JD Vance saying “left-wing extremism” is “part of the reason” Kirk was killed.
Discord, a group chat messaging platform, confirmed on Monday that Robinson sent messages two hours before he was taken into custody admitting he shot the conservative influencer.
“Hey guys, I have bad news for you all…It was me at UVU yesterday. im sorry for all of this,” one of the messages read.
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, FBI Director Kash Patel said the FBI is investigating “anyone and everyone involved in that Discord chat.”
Patel said there are “a lot more” than 20 people linked to Robinson on Discord and that the FBI is “running them all down.” He added that a “number of individuals” are currently being investigated.
Robinson was apprehended after his father recognized him in photographs released by authorities, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said last week. His father told Robinson to turn himself in, with the 22-year-old initially saying no, but later changing his mind, officials said.
In a press briefing from the Oval Office Monday evening, President Donald Trump said it appeared Robinson became radicalized on the internet.
“Something happened to him over a fairly short period of time. It looks like he was radicalized over the internet, and it’s radicalized on the left. He’s a left,” Trump claimed.
Robinson is alleged to have had an “obsession” with the conservative influencer, based on the alleged shooter’s digital footprint, FBI Co-Deputy Director Dan Bongino said Monday on Fox News.
Bongino said the suspect appeared to have exhibited “multiple warning signs.”
“I believe co-workers stated he had detached himself when the topic of politics came up and walked away,” Bongino said on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.”
Bongino said they are looking into whether anyone knew the shooting could happen and didn’t alert authorities, referring to the Discord chats Robinson allegedly had about Kirk.
“Did they … hear it and think it was a joke? That is what we’re trying to find out now,” he told Fox News. “If there is a larger network here, we will get that out to the public as soon as we can.”
Allegheny Mountains (Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Rescuers are racing to find a miner who’s been trapped in a flooded West Virginia coal mine for days.
Crews are pumping out thousands of gallons of water per minute at the Rolling Thunder Mine to help locate the miner after the site flooded Saturday, according to West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey.
“Rescue operations continue at the Rolling Thunder Mine in Nicholas County, where crews are now pumping water at a rate of approximately 6,000 gallons per minute – a significant increase from earlier efforts as additional pumps became available,” Gov. Morrisey posted Tuesday on X.
“This is another step forward in the ongoing effort to reach the missing miner. As water levels continue to drop, crews are also advancing on the drilling portion of the rescue as they prepare for additional heavy equipment to arrive,” he added.
The identity of the miner has not been publicly released.
At a press conference Monday, Morrisey said dive teams were working to find pockets of air where the miner may be located.
“This has been an around-the-clock response since Saturday, and we’re going to continue to do everything imaginable to help,” said Morrisey. “We’re going to continue to push because we want to make sure that we give the miner every opportunity to live.”
Nicholas County Commissioner Garrett Cole posted a statement on Facebook Sunday night, saying that the missing miner was helping his crew escape to safety.
“According to state wide reporting, the missing miner is said to be a foreman of a crew who worked to ensure that everyone on his crew was getting out of the mine but got trapped behind,” he said.
Rolling Thunder Mine is operated by Tennessee-based Alpha Metallurgical Resources, which operates 19 underground and surfaces mines across West Virginia and Virginia, according to its website.
A spokesperson for Alpha Metallurgical Resources did not immediately respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.
The weekend episode at Rolling Thunder Mine is the second mining incident in West Virginia this month, following the death of a miner at a different mine on Thursday, according to Morrisey.
“Our coal miners are among the hardest-working and most courageous people in our state. They represent the strength, humility, and resolve that define West Virginia. We owe these men and women an enduring debt of gratitude for the sacrifices they make every day to power our communities and our nation,” Morrisey posted on Facebook.
