PASO ROBLES, Calif.- A two-year-old little girl is fighting for her life after police say her own father abused her. Police have identified the suspect as Herbert Brown III.
"I mean I cannot even imagine, something so defenseless, to be harmed like that," said Tina Higginbotham, a neighbor.
As Tina Higginbotham holds her 5-year-old daughter, she is in shock to hear her neighbor, 29-year-old Herbert Brown III is accused of abusing his own daughter.
"That's so scary," reacted Higginbotham.
Paso Robles Police were called to a home on the 200 block of Santa Ysabel Avenue at about 5am Monday morning, and responded to a 2-year-old little girl not breathing, but when they arrived it quickly became an active crime scene.
"Through further investigation, it revealed there was something else beyond an accident, that there was child abuse involved," said Chief Robert Burton, Paso Robles Police Department.
Police wouldn't go in detail about the child's injuries, but say they appear to be life threatening.
"She's in critical condition, she was initially transported to Templeton Twin Cities Hospital, but then taken up to the bay area to be evaluated for her condition," said Burton.
Neighbors say Brown moved in a few months ago and never saw anything suspicious.
"Speechless..oh my god," reacted Zayra Aguirre, a neighbor.
"Our hearts go out to this child and other family members that are involved and we're hoping for a recovery," said Burton.
Brown is in San Luis Obispo County Jail facing child abuse charges. As for the mother's child, police say she does not live with the child's father and is currently with her daughter at the hospital.
