4-year-old girl left outside pre-school in Irvington after mix up

IRVINGTON, New Jersey (WABC) -- A big mix up at a pre-school in New Jersey has caused outrage amongst some parents after a child was left outside the school.

This all began with a mix up between two kids with the same first name in the same classroom.

The parents of one little girl named Khari were picking up their daughter but the school dismissed the other girl with the same name.

"A parent came for their child which is Khari A. for early dismissal, they mix up the children and packed up my kid and sent her downstairs," said Jessica Hamilton, whose daughter was wrongly dismissed.

These parents have now lost faith in the school system. Their daughter says she wiggled away from a parent volunteer and was left alone and walked by herself outside.

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"She says that she wiggled out of her hand, went through the auditorium doors, out a second set of closed auditorium doors then out two double doors to be outside in front of the school alone," Hamilton said.

The little girl who was missing says she was standing in front of the Augusta Street School for a while, but school officials have checked the cameras and say that Khari was only outside for 30 to 45 seconds before another adult brought the child back inside.

But the 4-year-old is blaming herself for the mix up.

"My daughter was crying, her coat wasn't zipped up, I asked her what's going on, she said, 'daddy, you guys weren't there,'" Khari's father Bryan Duguid Jr. said.

Now there are plenty of what ifs.

"My daughter could've gotten out of this school and ran into the street and hit by a car, my daughter could've been abducted," Duguid Jr. said.

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The family wants to thank the caring parent who took Khari back into the school.

"And I'm grateful for that man, and I would be grateful to have an opportunity to thank him," grandmother Erin Finney said.

The superintendent of Irvington Schools says the case is now under investigation and they are double checking to make sure all the proper procedures were followed. Plus, they're going to offer the little child, Khari, counseling.

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