NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — On Friday (Nov. 4), the New Orleans Police Department held a press conference to ask for public help in locating a suspect(s) accused of committing an auto theft with an infant inside of it in a Lakeview neighborhood.

The NOPD said the incident happened on Sunday, October 23. Investigators believe that the occupant of a white Dodge Charger exited the vehicle and entered the victim’s vehicle which was a Ford F-350 around 7 a.m. at the intersection of Fleur De Lis and 20th Street.

“You must remember to remove your keys from the car and secure the vehicle whenever you’re not inside the vehicle,” Captain Wayne DeLarge, NOPD’s Third District.

Shortly after receiving reports of the incident, the NOPD found the F-350 at the intersection of Louisville and French Streets with an infant inside. The infant was unharmed and reunited with his parents.

Through investigation, police determined that the white Charger was stolen earlier in the day around 3:30 am from the 1200 block of Tulane. Police have not identified the suspects in the case and request help and ask anyone with information to contact them by calling Third District Police at 658-6030 or call Crimestoppers at 822-1111.

Today Crimestoppers upped the reward to $3-Thousand to catch the suspect or suspects involved.

“Our message today is simple. Zero tolerance. First off if you’re the person who committed the crime, we are calling it a car theft, I am going to assume you didn’t know that infant was in the car. I’m going to tell you to do the right thing and turn yourself in. As a parent, as a grandmother, this is horrifying,” Darlene Cusanza, President of Crimestoppers said.

Here’s the press conference with the NOPD and Crimestoppers:

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