A couple have been arrested in Arizona after allegedly abandoning their two year son in order to play Pokémon Go, local sheriff deputies have revealed.
Brianna Daley, 25, and Brent Daley, 27, are facing charges of child endangerment and neglect after leaving the toddler crying outside an apartment block whilst they were playing Pokémon Go.
The local CBS affiliate reports that deputies “arrived at the scene and found the child screaming and crying, attempting to get into the residence. They said the boy was barefoot and wearing only a diaper and a T-shirt. The child was reportedly red-faced, sweaty and dirty.”
“Deputies found the house unlocked and searched inside for any adults but found that no one was home. They located a phone number for someone they believed was the boy’s dad. When they called and told him his child was found abandoned, he replied, ‘Whatever,’ and hung up on the deputies, according to sheriff’s officials,” the report continues.
The couple reportedly left the child alone for 90 minutes and later admitted it had been because they had gone out in search of Pokémon.
Sheriff Paul Babeu said in a statement, “Our agency and many other law enforcement agencies have been warning people about personal safety while playing this interactive Smartphone game, but we never would have imagined that parents would abandon a child to play Pokémon Go. This goes beyond comprehension.”
“The deputies found the child locked out of his home in 96 degree weather with no water while his parents were gone interacting with their Smartphone game,” he continued.
The incident is just one of many controversial stories surrounding the mega successful game. Other stories include the app leading players to registered sex offenders, two Israeli men sustaining serious injuries as a result of playing the app, as well as a warning from the Holocaust Museum in Washington that it was “not appropriate” for visitors to play the game whilst visiting.
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