Major crime detectives investigating after newborn found dead in Victoria parking lot
Major crime detectives are investigating after a newborn baby was found dead in a Victoria parking lot Wednesday night.
Paramedics and Victoria police patrol officers were called to reports that a dead infant was discovered in the 700-block of Bay Street, near the Blanshard Centre shopping plaza, just before 10 p.m.
In a statement Thursday, Victoria police said investigators believe the baby was recently born, possibly in the area.
The child's mother may be in need of urgent medical care and support, police said.
Detectives with the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit, which investigates homicides and suspicious deaths, have taken over the investigation.
Several Victoria police officers, including a forensic identification team, were examining the scene outside the plaza's Subway restaurant, near the intersection of Bay and Blanshard streets, in the early morning hours Thursday.
The restaurant remained behind police tape as investigators collected items from the scene and took photographs in and around the restaurant property, including inside a restaurant bathroom.
Investigators donned white coveralls, masks and gloves to examine a pair of dumpsters and another garbage bin behind the building.
A spokesperson for Our Place Society, a homeless shelter and support centre in Victoria, said he immediately alerted his staff to be on the lookout for a woman in distress following the incident.
"I can't imagine anything much more heartbreaking," said Grant McKenzie. "My heart really goes out to everybody involved, but especially the mother."
Nicole Andrews, an outreach worker for young parents at the Cridge Centre for the Family in Victoria, called the incident "devastating."
"I'm sure that the circumstances were quite horrible for this woman to feel that was how she had to solve the situation that she found herself in," Andrews said.
"There needs to be consequences for the actions but we need to understand why it occurred and what resources she was lacking, what the situation was, before there are consequences."
Anyone with information about the baby or the whereabouts of the mother is asked to contact major crime detectives at 250-380-6211.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'We have laws': Premier Smith says police action justified in Calgary
The actions, including the decision to use non-lethal force, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Calgary campus were justified, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.