A man was arrested Friday in Charleston, South Carolina, after he left his 6-year-old daughter asleep outside a Target store to wait in line when a new Pokémon trading card set was released, police said.
The Charleston Police Department said in a news release that officers responded to the Target mall in Charleston’s West Ashley neighborhood around 2:30 a.m. following a report of an unsupervised child. They found the girl alone. Police identified the father as John-Michael Dooley, 35, of Johns Island, South Carolina.
According to police, many customers gathered outside the store overnight to await their release. Mega Evolution — Delta Reign, the latest expansion pack for the best-selling Pokémon trading card game, was released on Friday. The decades-old Japanese series began as a children’s video game that centers on fictional creatures that players collect, train, and battle. Packages start at about $5.
The release did not say whether Dooley planned to purchase the cards for himself or his daughter.
Witnesses told police that just after 1 a.m., Dooley gave the girl a pillow and blanket and let her fall asleep in the line. When about an hour passed and Dooley hadn’t returned, concerned customers called police, authorities said.
When Dooley returned to the store, witnesses recognized him and arrested him, according to the release. Police said he admitted he left his daughter unattended when he returned home so he could keep order.
The child was not injured and was placed in the emergency protective custody of the South Carolina Department of Social Services, police said.
Dooley was charged with unlawful conduct with a child. He was being held at the Alcannon Detention Center and could not immediately be reached for comment, according to the release.