Children should never be left alone without proper care.

In this story, a man found a young boy crying for help outside his apartment building at night.

The child was alone and terrified, and he claimed he heard scary noises inside the home.

When the father returned, the situation only raised more concerns about the child’s safety.

Poor kid, he had to endure such a scary situation.

Read the full story below to find out more…

Left his 5 yr old home alone.

I was out for a smoke last night at 8 p.m.

In the building across the street, a little boy came to the door by himself.

He was inside. He looked maybe 5 or 6 years old.

After a minute, he opened the door.

This man tried to calm the crying kid.

He was clearly sobbing. He asked for help loudly.

I went over and took him back inside his building.

He had no shoes or coat on. He was having a panic attack.

I sat him down on the stairs and tried to calm him.

The boy was home alone.

I tried to get his name.

He said he was home alone and he heard scary noises.

He said he maybe even heard a knock on the door.

He thought someone might be in the apartment.

The boy’s dad saw him and was worried.

His dad drove up at this point. He saw me with the kid. He left his car in the road and ran in.

He was also panicked.

He was concerned his kid was with a stranger. He was upset.

He said he went to the store to get the kid a chocolate bar.

He left as soon as the dad got the boy.

I said I would stay while he parked his car.

As soon as the dad turned to walk away, the kid vomited.

So he stayed with the kid to calm him and clean up.

I left.

He’s planning on calling child services to report the incident.

Who leaves a 5-year-old home alone? It was clearly without any plan for if he needed help. Anything could have happened.

I know he is a single dad. Why didn’t he just take the kid with him?

I am going to call child services this afternoon. I had to get some info about which apartment they were in.

I am heartbroken for the kid, and I am angry at the dad.

It’s honestly hard not to feel upset when you see a young child scared and alone.

His dad may not have meant harm, but leaving a small child home alone can easily turn dangerous very quickly.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a bride whose sweet tribute to her biological family was foiled by her jealous adoptive mother.

Do you think calling child services is reasonable? Let’s read the responses of other people on Reddit.

This person thinks the dad was lying.

That’s not okay in any circumstances, says this person.

This user suggests calling the mom, too.

Here’s another valid point.

Finally, this comment makes sense, too.

A quick trip to the store can still become a very long night for a young kid.