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" Earlier this week, a retired police officer rescued a 4-month-old baby from a scorching-hot car in the parking lot of a New Jersey Kohl&amp;#039;s. Now, he&amp;#039;s being hailed as a hero.      Steven Eckel, a 53-year-old retired Middlesex County Sherrif&amp;#039;s Department Sergeant, tells CBS New York that his fatherly instincts kicked in when he and another shopper noticed the baby trapped inside the hot car by herself. He immediately raced back to his own vehicle, where he kept a sledgehammer in the trunk. According to TIME, the infant was wearing a onesie and had a wool blanket draped over her.  &amp;quot;She was sweating, crying, eyes rolling back,&amp;quot; he told the news station. &amp;quot;I ran around to the other side, caught the edge [of the window], and it just shattered.&amp;quot; The retired cop says that the rescue made him so emotional that he almost started to cry. Eckel then waited with local police officers until the mother finally exited the store. (Police say she had been in the store for approximately 40 minutes.) When 33-year-old Karen Gruen saw her shattered car window and the baby&amp;#039;s empty car seat, she started to panic. &amp;quot;[She said,] &amp;#039;Oh my God, where&amp;#039;s my baby?&amp;#039; And the cop said, &amp;#039;You&amp;#039;re the mother? Have a seat,&amp;#039;&amp;quot; Eckel recounted during his interview with CBS New York. Eckel believes that Gruen, who was arrested for endangering the welfare of a child, should plead guilty, be put on probation and learn from her almost-fatal mistake \u2014 but he&amp;#039;s really just happy that this potentially tragic story ended with a happy, healthy baby. &amp;quot;I do believe in guardian angels, and I think I&amp;#039;m the one for this child,&amp;quot; he told the news station. For more on this story, watch CBS New York&amp;#039;s video below.   [h/t CBS New York]  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/inspirational-stories/news/a40249/retired-cop-frees-baby-from-hot-car/>