Florida woman’s car catches fire after she allegedly left her kids inside to go shoplift

Authorities in Florida said a woman’s car caught fire with her two kids trapped inside after she allegedly left them to go and shoplift. According to NBC News, the suspect, identified as 24-year-old Alicia Moore, has since been charged with aggravated child neglect and arson.

The May 26 incident occurred after Moore left her children in her car before entering the Oviedo Mall with an “unknown male” to shoplift at a Dillard’s department store, the arrest warrant stated, adding that she spent about an hour committing the alleged crime.

After noticing her car was “engulfed in flames” as she was making her way out of the store, Moore “dropped the stolen merchandise” and ran out of the store,  the report stated. Though the fire is said to have “completely totaled” Moore’s car, bystanders managed to rescue her trapped children, who were taken to a hospital. 

The arrest report, however, revealed that one of the suspect’s children suffered “several first-degree burns.” The report also stated that though the cause of the fire had not been determined, the injuries the children sustained were a result of their mother’s neglect. Police explained that was the reason behind the aforementioned charges being brought against her.

Moore, who pleaded not guilty on Friday, is scheduled to be arraigned on June 27. Besides the aforementioned charges, officials in Sumter County have also charged the 24-year-old with petty theft, assault, and battery on a person over 65 years old, NBC News reported.