A Texas deputy is accused of leaving his 2-month-old child alone inside a vehicle for three hours in the summer heat, investigators say.

The infant, who is in critical condition, was taken to a San Antonio hospital by ambulance shortly after 1 p.m. Sept. 18, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Deputies began investigating the incident after receiving a call from the hospital and quickly learned that the baby’s father was one of their own, now-former deputy Antonio Almaraz, according to the release.

“When deputies initially spoke to Almaraz, he gave conflicting statements,” the sheriff’s office said. “However, investigators were able to determine the events that had actually taken place.”

Almaraz had taken the child to a “routine pediatrics appointment” and arrived back home at 10 a.m., then turned the vehicle off and went inside without the baby, the sheriff’s office said.

It wasn’t until 1 p.m., roughly three hours later, when someone noticed the baby was inside the vehicle and unresponsive, according to the release.

Temperatures reached 96 degrees in the San Antonio area that afternoon, according to Weather.com.

“Given the amount of awareness in the community regarding leaving children unattended in vehicles, there is absolutely no valid excuse for this to have occurred,” Sheriff Javier Salazar said. “My family and I are praying for the best possible outcome for this precious baby.”

Almaraz, 31, was arrested on charges of injury to a child, abandoning a child with intent to return, and endangering a child, according to investigators, and his bond was set at $80,000.