Dead newborn found lying on central Phoenix street
PHOENIX - A dead newborn was found lying in the street in central Phoenix early Saturday morning, police said.
Police responded to an area near 11th Avenue and Madison Street at around 1 a.m. on Nov. 12 after someone called 911 to report a child in the roadway.
"A fetus was located and pronounced deceased by fire," police said, adding that there were no signs of trauma.
Phoenix Police Sgt. Melissa Soliz added, "The estimated gestational age of the fetus is believed to be between twenty and twenty-four weeks."
The remains will be examined by the Office of the Medical Examiner to determine a cause of death.
The incident is still being investigated, and no other details were released.
The neighborhood, known as The Zone, is a section of downtown Phoenix where over a thousand homeless people live.
After speaking to several unhoused people in the area, they said they were still shaken by the discovery.
Community advocate Stacey Champion says it’s a heartbreaking situation and that it's indicative that far more resources are needed.
"Our systems are just failing people," she said. "Why are we sitting on a $5 billion surplus and not using it to tackle some of these issues, to tackle the fentanyl issue, to tackle this massive affordable housing crisis that we have?"