Police break into car to save infant locked inside

Emergency personnel in Oakland, California, were quick to respond on Monday after receiving a call that an infant had been spotted in the back of a locked car, abandoned and still strapped into a car seat. Reports also indicated that the child was unresponsive. Authorities rushed to the scene and immediately smashed the car’s window to get to the baby. But when they entered the vehicle, they couldn’t believe what they found.

It was not a baby that had been left in the hot car, but an incredibly life-like doll.
It’s easy to see why first responders were confused, considering the doll was dressed in modern clothes, had been left strapped in an authentic car seat. It looked like this:

Though police say they’ve been unable to determine why the doll was left in the car seat, the Daily Mail reports that, due to its hyper-realistic quality, it may be a “reborn” doll.

The ‘Reborning Movement’ is a recently emerged subculture in which collectors ‘adopt’ artificial babies, often throwing birthday parties, building nurseries and, of course, strapping the dolls into car seats.
A single reborn doll can reportedly cost thousands of dollars.

Reborn or not, authorities insist that the response to the situation was appropriate, as “first responders’ number one priority is to ensure safety.”