The Associated Press

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning parents and caregivers to immediately stop using a popular brand of bassinet after the death of a second baby attributed to the product. Six major retailers have stopped selling the bassinets.

The warning covers the Simplicity 3-in-1 and Simplicity 4-in-1 bassinets. CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese said Thursday that the danger is so severe that the agency was compelled to issue the warning late Wednesday ahead of a likely recall.

“Recalls can take time, and the commission felt that time was of the essence and that warning the public about this product was so important that we could not wait until a recall was announced,” she said.

Last week, a 7-month-old Shawnee, Kan., girl was strangled after trying to slip through the metal tubes that run down the side of the bassinet. Police said her body fit through the tubes, but her head was too big.

In September 2007, a 4-month-old girl from Pineville died after becoming caught between the rail of her Simplicity 4-in-1 bassinet and the mattress.

Katelynn Marie Simon was discovered in that asphyxiating position by her parents, Elizabeth Simon and Chris Priddy, 4 1/2 hours after her 5 a.m. feeding. The infant was taken to Freeman Hospital West in Joplin, where she was pronounced dead.

Jeff Slaton, an attorney for the girl’s family, said his clients will be relieved when the defective bassinets are pulled off the shelves.

Slaton said he filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Simon family against Wal-Mart and Simplicity Inc. on Aug. 20, the day before the Kansas baby died.

“It’s rather obvious when you look at this bassinet that it’s defective and dangerous,” he said. “The problem is that people don’t think in those terms. When you go to Wal-Mart and find something covered with Walt Disney’s Winnie the Pooh, you don’t think like that.”

Slaton said he hasn’t been hired to handle the Kansas case.

Wal-Mart, one of the largest distributors of the product, said Thursday that it is pulling the bassinets off of its shelves and its Web site.

“We are working with the supplier and CPSC and are directing store managers to remove product identified in the CPSC press release from store shelves and initiating a register block to prevent sale,” Wal-Mart said in a statement. “In addition, we are in the process of removing this product from sale at Walmart.com.”

In addition, Toys “R” Us, Kmart Corp., Big Lots, Target and J.C. Penney have halted sales of the bassinets, the CPSC said late Thursday.