Mother ‘Out with Friends’ as Baby Dies in Rat Attack

A baby girl died after being attacked by rats in a South African shack while her teenage mother was out with friends, local media reported Thursday.

The dead infant was found covered in rat bites after neighbors heard her crying in pain during the night while her mother was away from the Soweto shack she shares with school friends, said The New Age newspaper.

"We were called to the scene of the death of an infant due to a rat attack on Monday morning at around 9:00 am," said police officer Bongani Mhlongo.

"The mother of the child was arrested on charges of culpable homicide and negligence."

The baby was not dressed warmly and the cold Johannesburg winter could have contributed to her death, said Mhlongo.

"The young girl's child was covered in blood," a neighbor told the newspaper.

"I could see that the child was dead already, but this girl kept bathing her, we told her to stop but she did not want to accept that her child was dead."

The mother, a high school pupil, was released on bail.