Father Who Left His 5 Children in Van Outside Bar Arrested: Police

9-month-old baby, four other children left in van, Dallas police say

A father of six went from celebrating at a bar to behind bars on child endangerment charges.

Francisco Lopez, 34, allegedly left his five children inside a van early Sunday morning while he was at a bar on Samuell Avenue in Dallas, police said.

When asked by security guards why he at the bar, Lopez told them he was celebrating.

"He said, 'My wife was in hospital having a baby, and I was out here celebrating,'" said guard Shucorey Maxey.

Maxey said the five children were asleep inside a van. The youngest is just 9 months old.

"It was 80 degrees outside -- if not 90 degrees outside -- even though [the] sun wasn't up ... [The] windows were up. It's humid inside that van," Maxey said. "As a father, it upset me."

When a fellow guard told Maxey about the situation, the two confronted Lopez, and he ran.

"That's when we ran behind him, detained him and put him in the handcuffs," Maxey said.

Maxey said they opened up all of the vehicle's doors, and the manager of the bar got bottles of water while they waited for Dallas police. Officers then took over the children's care.

"One of the Dallas police officers changed the diaper of the 9-month-old kid," Maxey said.

NBC 5 has learned that the children are in custody of relatives. CPS would not comment on case because it does not have custody of the children.

Lopez's bond is set at $50,000.

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