Raleigh police officers said they arrested a North Carolina mother of a baby seen apparently smoking in a Facebook video. (City-County Bureau of Identification)
Police in North Carolina said Wednesday that they arrested a 20-year-old who they identified as the mother of a baby who reportedly appeared to be smoking in a video shared on Facebook.
Brianna Ashanti Lofton was arrested by the Raleigh Police Department and charged with two counts of felony child abuse, contributing to delinquency and possession of marijuana, authorities said in a statement.
Raleigh police said the video was flagged to them on social media around 9:30 a.m.
A version of the video, which has since been taken down, reportedly received 1.5 million views and was posted by a user who urged the mother's arrest, The Associated Press said. The 10-second clip reportedly showed the hand of an adult off-screen holding what appeared to be a cigarillo to the child's lips. The child then makes a cooing sound and appeared to inhale before letting out a puff of smoke. It was not clear from the video what the child is allegedly smoking.
Raleigh police said the child was placed with child protective services and Lofton was taken to Wake County Detention Center.
In a post on Facebook, the department thanked “everyone who posted information about the smoking mother and baby.”
“Thanks to your willingness to get involved, the child is now safe and the mother is in custody,” the post said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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