ANTIOCH — A mother was arrested and her four children placed into the hands of Child and Family Services on Thursday after a passer-by saw a 2-year-old alone outside, police said.
Police were at the house in the 2000 block of Spruce Way when the children’s 36-year-old mother arrived home. Her children already had been taken by ambulance to a hospital.
Police said officers arrested her there on suspicion of child abuse.
Officers were contacted about 5 p.m. to do a welfare check on the home after the passer-by saw the child, according to a statement from Antioch police. Those officers found the front door to the home unsecured, and police said nobody responded to their knocks.
Police said they entered the house to make sure the child was safe and found another 2-year-old, a 5-year-old and an 8-year-old inside. All three needed medical attention, and police called the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District to the scene.
All four went by ambulance to a hospital and were evaluated, treated and released.
Police said a county hazardous materials team determined the house to be uninhabitable, and the children were placed in the hands of CFS after being medically cleared.