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A video showing a baby left unattended at a Chinese buffet in Ohio has sparked a social media outcry.

Shannon Culley, from Sandusky, Ohio, was eating at the China Dragon Buffet restaurant near his house when he noticed a couple get up and leave their baby in a carrier in a booth while they went to get food.

Culley started filming, claiming the pair were gone for four minutes. He posted the video to his Facebook account which was then quickly circulated, receiving over 4 million views, and came to the attention of police, reports Daily Mail.

The Perkins Township Police Department launched an investigation into whether the video is evidence of child endangering.

‘Can we say because the parent walked out of the screen shot of this video and left the child unattended in the booth that there was a significant risk of injury to that child? I’m not sure we can,’ Chief Ken Klamar told the station.

The mother of the child told police that the video was shot to deliberately keep her out of the frame, and that she was not far from the booth.

‘She alleges the person who took it intentionally moved the camera, if you will, in a way that she wouldn’t be seen on it to make it look worse than what it was,’ Klamar said.

Culley removed the video from his Facebook  as the debate continued to rage.

It is unclear whether any charges will be brought against the parents, but Erie County Children Services has opened an investigation.

The parents have not been identified.

Police said that Culley would have been better just calling 911, rather than taking a video.

‘Especially when we’re talking about a child and the welfare of a child, call the police,’ Klamar said.

Really? Can we seriously ridicule these parents?  I think this is totally ridiculous.

Share your comments below.

Image via Daily Mail

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  • We don’t know how far the parents were from the baby. They may have only been a couple of paces away. You can’t see either side of the table they were sitting at. I can see the point others are making.

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  • I am not a parent yet but seriously you wouldnt leave your handbag unattended that long, let alone your infant which is infinitely more precious

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  • If they didn’t leave the restaurant how far could the food possibly be from their booth. I think charging them is ridiculous. Personally I would get my husband to go first while I watched bub then I would get my food while he sat with bub. But still charging them seems ridiculously over the top.

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  • Not being there and seeing for myself I guess its hard to judge but by the same token there is no way I would have felt comfortable to do that. It would have been smarter for one of the parents to get their food and then when they got back the other parent could go get their food. I feel that there are a lot of nut cases out there and I wouldnt want to leave my baby alone like that even if I could see the baby. it only takes a few seconds for some nutter to grab the baby and case it harm.

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  • But the parents were in the same room. It’s not like they went outside. They could probably see the baby from where they were. It looks a little exaggerated to me.

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  • Strange to think someone videos your child for 4minutes rather than speak to the staff about the abandoned child

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  • As a mum of 3, on the rare occasions we ate out, we would always take turns to go to the buffet. You wouldn’t leave your purse on the table unattended so why would you leave your baby??? BUT I have definitely read much worse cases of neglect! This is just poor parenting choices!

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  • One parent should have stayed, however they were not too far away. I’ve heard much worse cases of neglect!

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  • Maybe one parent could have stayed with the baby instead of both of them to get the food.

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  • I cannot say whether this child was in danger because it may be possible that the parents were within arm’s reach of the baby, but honestly I wouldn’t leave my valuables unattended at a table for four minutes, so I definitely would not leave my child. In most cases, parents take turns when they need to leave a restaurant table.

    Reply

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