John-Michael Dooley was arrested Friday, Nov. 7, after Charleston police responded to the store around 2:30 a.m., according to department accounts. Investigators said Dooley gave the child a pillow and a blanket and left her sleeping on the sidewalk among customers who had gathered hours before dawn for the highly anticipated card launch.

After roughly an hour, other people waiting in line called police, authorities said. When Dooley returned to the store, witnesses identified him and officers took him into custody.

According to police, Dooley told officers he had gone home and left his daughter at the store specifically to keep his spot in the queue.

The child was not injured. She was placed in emergency protective custody with the South Carolina Department of Social Services, the agency responsible for investigating reports of child abuse and neglect and arranging temporary care for children removed from unsafe situations.

Unlawful conduct toward a child is a South Carolina charge that can apply when a parent or caregiver places a minor at unreasonable risk of harm. The case will proceed through the local court system; no further court dates were immediately available.

The incident has drawn attention in part because of the lengths to which collectors and resellers have gone to secure newly released Pokémon card sets, which have repeatedly sold out within hours at retailers across the country in recent years. Overnight lines outside big-box stores have become common ahead of major releases, sometimes drawing crowds and, occasionally, conflicts.

For West Ashley residents, the case also raises questions about child supervision and community responsibility. Police credited the customers in line with alerting authorities rather than ignoring the child, a decision that officials said allowed officers to intervene quickly.

Charleston police did not release additional details about the investigation. It was not immediately clear whether Dooley had retained an attorney.