I rarely even leave my dog alone in the car for a minute or two (and it has to be nice or cool, windows cracked, engine off and doors locked). With the kids, even if I'm just running inside the gas station to pay for gas, I undo both 5 pt harnesses, drag the 5 and 1 year old inside, get stuck buying a twinkie or something, and re-buckle both for the drive home. To leave a kid in a running car while you go inside is just asking for trouble.

OK .. you won't say she's a bad mom. I will. How dumb can a parent be? She should be charged with child endangerment.

She went into Walmart to use the ATM just be a few minutes..but as she was coming out she said she dropped everything ( ???) when she saw her vehicle going down the road. Put this lady in jail too.

There are too many drive-thru ATM's to count in my neighborhood to count. You don't go into Walmart to use an ATM. I think Momma went into Walmart to do some shopping. She is VERY lucky that her baby was found alive. This is a happy ending to what could have been a terrible tragedy.

Thank you! I was thinking the same thing.

It's illegal in most states (if not all) to leave children in the car - even if they are in eyesight - even if the car is locked (which in this case it wasn't) and even if it's running and locked. I think moms get tired of having to lug all this gear around and they think "it will only take a second and I can see my car" especially if your child is sleeping or sick or something like that. I'm a mom, I know. I've felt like that at times - but I'm always afraid something like this would happen. So, regardless of your moral obligation, you have a legal one too! Never leave you kid in the car.

So she loves her kids enough to leave them in a running SUV that is unlocked, to go get cash out of the ATM...then dropping everything?..huh....please stop breeding. we have enough stupid people in the world.

It is a fundamental flaw in American society that you can't leave a child unattended for a minute without fearing that someone will kidnap them. In the summertime in many countries in Europe people leave their strollers parked outside of shops while they go in and buy things, without worrying that someone will run off with their babies. Why is there so much more crime in the United States? Where did things go so wrong?

We've heard and read stories for years where a parent leaves their kid/s in an unlocked running vehicle and sadly the child was found dead. Did this Mom live under a rock and never hear one of these stories. How totally stunned and supid.

According to KPRC-TV in Houston, the child's mother told Houston police she had pulled up to the shopping center's parking lot about 5:30 p.m. Thursday and left Evan and her 7-year-old niece inside the vehicle. She told police she had left the engine running because it was cold outside and she didn't plan to be but a few minutes.

To those of you saying "she's a bad mother", "she should be charged with child neglect", "she left the baby alone in the car", etc., READ THE DAMN ARTICLE! It says right there in black and white that her niece was in the car with the baby while she was at the ATM. The niece jumped out of the car when the man jumped in. Unfortunately the girl didn't have enough time to get the baby out as well.

Because a 7 year old is perfectly capable of defending herself and the baby from a GROWN-ASS MAN.

@motherof2: If you won't say it, I will. She IS a bad mom.

@Elpea: It would be great if things weren't this bad here, but they are. Not sure the European example is relevant - the guy clearly was stealing the car, the baby was just along for the ride.

I hold no seven year old accountable for reacting to a dangerous situation. Period. I dont even want to think of what could have happened to that little girl had she NOT moved! Who I do blame, and with a ton of anger, is any parent or 'responsible' adult who leaves a child in a car and goes five steps away from it. I dont care if they are locked in, sleeping soundly, 'you'll just be a minute' etc. There is no excuse valid for leaving a child or children unattended, even with a younger teen. They are called kids for a reason, they are looking to us to be responsible. Thank God the precious lil guy and the niece were safe. What a horrible thing to happen to both those children.

This mother should be charged with child endangerment. There is absolutely no excuse for what she did. I can understand not wanting to unbuckle the kids and take them out of the car if you are only going to hit the ATM. I know that law says that you are not supposed to leave kids in the car unattended at all, but I am willing to be somewhat realistic here. However, leaving them in the car with the doors unlocked and the engine running is completely inexcusable. Some things about her story just do not add up to me. first off, if she was only hitting the ATM, what was this "everything" she dropped when she went running after the vehicle. Second, what was the need to leave to car running if she was only going to hit the ATM. It would have to be sub zero temperatures for it to be necessary to leave the car running for heat if you are only going to the ATM. Otherwise, there would be no problem leaving the kids in the car for two minutes while you hit the ATM. My guess is that this mother was doing a lot more than just hitting the ATM and really went in to do some quickly shopping for a few items and got lazy, not wanting to take the kids out of the car and into the store with her. That would explain both the need for the heat to be on in the car and the "everything" that she dropped when she went running after the car. I think she lied to the police to cover up her irresponsibility and to try and avoid being charged. The police should investigate and if this is really the case, she should not only be charged with child endangerment, but also with filing a false police report.

She went into Walmart to use the ATM just be a few minutes..but as she was coming out she said she dropped everything ( ???) when she saw her vehicle going down the road. Put this lady in jail too.

Women typically carry a purse - thus, she would have things to drop.

There are too many drive-thru ATM's to count in my neighborhood to count. You don't go into Walmart to use an ATM.

Where I live, the bank inside the Wal-Mart only has one non-retail branch (about 30 - 45 min away - depending on traffic). The other drive through ATMs all charge $3.50 or more if your account isn't with them - not to mention what your bank will charge you for not using their ATM. The very few times I've been in the Wal-Mart, I have always seen people using the ATM.

Drive thru ATMs dont cash welfare checks, WALMART Employees do.

First - nothing in the article mentioned welfare (at least not that I saw). Second - welfare doesn't come in checks anymore. People receive their benefits on an ATM card. So, even if she had been using it to get cash benefits from a walfare ATM card, she could've used a drive through ATM.

ALL that said - she wasn't very bright for leaving those children in the car. 7 years old is NOT old enough to be left alone, let alone watch a younger child - even for a few minutes. I have had my children with me many times when it was inconvenient to unbuckle them and take them in - but I took the time to unbuckle them, and take them in with me every single time I had to stop. When my oldest son was a little tiny baby pay at the pump wasn't all that common where we lived - I always unhooked him in and took him in to pay for my gas, even if it took more time to get him out and back in the car than it did for me to pay in the store. You never know what could happen when you leave your children in the car - someone might steal the car with them in it, someone might accidentally hit the car injuring the children, if it's running, the child might accidentally put it in gear and cause an accident, etc., etc. Stupid to leave kids in the car for any reason for any length of time.

In the summertime in many countries in Europe people leave their strollers parked outside of shops while they go in and buy things...

Elpea - it all depends on one's location, both in Europe and the USA. There are plenty of small towns in the USA were people feel safe leaving their kids in strollers outside of shops, but I guarantee you that no one is going to do that in New York, London or Paris. If you don't like it here, then move to Europe.

Moheeheeko, Your a racist piece of @!$%#. Just because the child is not white does not mean the mother is on welfare.

Oh dear, there you go again scales67, telling someone to leave the US because you don't like what they said.

Since you don't believe in free speech, why don't YOU leave?

How about blaming the guy who stole the car????

Kids or animals, no difference. Never leave either of them alone in a car. Never. Never.

Everybody is talking about the mom being dumb for leaving the children unattended.Yes,I agree this is bad,but,why doesn't anybody say that stealing a car is even worse?It's because you have your priorities backwards!If they catch the thief,he will only get a slap on the hand.Chances are he's done it before.Chances are good he'd do it again.Lock your cars,and take your children with you please!

I love how these types of stories will always have these 2 types of comments:

1. "I'm not going to judge, but this should have been done. What was done was wholly irresponsible. I can't believe people would do that."

2. "Why do you make these generalizations? I (emphasis on I) would never do something like that. I always do the right thing."

Yup. Never fails to disappoint.

I will blame the guy who stole the car for stealing the car. I blame the mother for being stupid!

I am just glad that the child was rescued by an honorable guy.

I am just glad he decided to investigate the vehicle left in the alley.

Seems like in this instance that stepping outside for a smoke resulted in the saving of a life... talk about irony... LOL

Some people would not even have bothered to check the vehicle and some would instead have called the police regarding towing of the vehicle blocking the alleyway. All that would have taken time, in which the child could have died.

Good thing also that the mother had dressed the child warmly too. Good for you mum.

In this day and age the child could have been 'rescued' and taken by someone who wanted to a child and is unable to pass the adoption screening or even sold to a pedophile or human trafficker.

One could say that that child is truly blessed considering all the other negative things that could have happened from the theft of the car.

Another thing ... at least the car thief had the heart to leave the vehicle where there was a possibility that hopefully the child could be found ... by leaving it blocking the alley behind a restaurant.... although it would have been better to take the child to a hospital ER and leave him there.

Even better yet he should not have stolen the vehicle in the first place, but at least this had a great ending.

Peace.....

lynsey - I blame the mother for being stupid!

I think it's rather arrogant for you to think you are in a position to be blaming anyone. It's not yours to judge.

mozzie; I know some parents of a certain niece who have the right to judge her..lol.

Up Uranus; lean in a little, a little more, come just a bit closer - SMACK!

a real tot mom...would have put the kid in the trunk...tot tot... toty good bye ...tot tot...toty don't cry...

Don't over dramatize. Seven years old is not a baby. One baby. One kid. My mom would leave us in the car to run quick errands when my sister and I were young, many, many moons ago. Sure, it was a different world back then or whatever, but no one ever gave that a second thought back then and we survived and thrived in spite of it. Is it a good idea, especially in winter? No. But does it make her an over all bad mother that she did it? No, of course not. Times have changed, standards have changed, what was considered fine back then is taboo now, but having your running car stolen with kids inside would still be a very, very remote possibility -- though one that seems more possible in retrospect, to be sure. I bet she'll never do it again, no matter how much of a hurry she is in.

I'm glad her son is home unharmed. For once, a happy ending.

That's rather harsh... and since when is a 7 year old a baby? I just wish some of you self righteous guardians of human behavior would get a grip on it. Optomyst?

A seven year old should NOT be left in a car while it is running. A seven year old should NOT be left in charge of a baby. A sven year old should not be left in the middle a walamrt parking lot in Houston texas. period.

and yes I do have children, I know what children are capable of and what they are not. and I know their value.

@saddened, My mother left me in he car as a child too. I got some bad news for you, both our mothers were stupid for that. You seem to confuse LUCK with being safe.

I can't believe the grief this woman is getting! It's not that unreasonable to leave your kids in the car for 2 minutes, especially if they're in view the whole time. What happened to her is incredibly rare!

When I was a kid, we'd sit in the car for an entire hour while my mom shopped. Lots of kids did. We also rode our bikes around town alone, stayed home alone while parents ran errands, and walked 1/2 mile to the bus stop without an adult! Twenty years ago, other moms would roll their eyes if you dragged in a sleeping baby to use an ATM. That's paranoid!

I once finished shopping on a freezing day with subzero temperatures, and immediately started my car so it would have time to warm up and defrost, then I strapped the baby into the carseat, shut the door, and walked over to the driver's side to get in. But it locked me out. So I had to go back into the store, leaving baby all alone in a running vehicle so I could call a locksmith. Crap happens. Running inside the store with a baby in the car doesn't hurt anyone. Criminals hurt people. And this woman was a victim of CRIME!

Shoot,My mom would leave all six of us in the car while she shopped. Of course, no one in their right mind would want to grab that car. Even if it was a Lamberghini. Also, This was back in the sixities when crap like this didn't happen.

That's the most brilliant comment of the day... Leaving a car outside running and carbon monoxide anyone?? She didn't leave the car running... in walmart.

Yes I'm sure she parked in the convenient little airtight garages that every Walmart parking lot has? Physics man... or just common sense.

I could see a 1996 Cherokee having an exhaust leak into the car. Could happen...

In which case it wouldn't really matter if the car was moving or not. The comment was dumb, no need to defend it.

Wow Jerry, you're an idiot.

i know someone's father who died in his running truck. he was out in the wilderness, it was cold, and he decided to take a nap in his running truck. he never woke up. carbon monoxide poisoning

i work offshore in the gulf of mexico. everytime i end up at a dock that chevron owns, they have signs that say "no sleeping in running vehicles". its one of their safety policies. in the offshore industry, safety policies are implemented after an incident occurs.

it appears all you people that are harrasing jerry here just want to be a bunch of dicks. exhaust leaks into a cab are rare, but possible

@bigmowma

i completely agree with you. i can see a 1996 jeep cherokee spewing exhaust fumes into the cab. those jeeps at that time were pieces of junk

Matt-1846929

"i can see a 1996 jeep cherokee spewing exhaust fumes into the cab. those jeeps at that time were pieces of junk"

AMC era Cherokee's had their share of issues, but by the time Chrysler revised them in 91 they were very solid vehicles. I sold my 92 Cherokee with 200k miles on it last year and it still ran like new with no problems.

I'm fairly certain that this was her wake up call. Its a mistake that she will never make again. Hopefully this will be a wakeup call to any other parent who thinks they can run in for just a minute and leave the baby in the car.

Those "statistics" are temperature-related fatalities from "just a minute" that ended up being longer. I think this falls under carjacking statistics, and that is not something you can reasonably expect to happen!

It's against the law in most places NyNy and most people who have done this have been slapped with a lot more than a fine. IF she gets to keep custody of her kids, social services will be supervising for awhile and she might be ordered to take parenting classes. No one in their right mind leaves two kids in a car, running or not, in a Walmart parking lot.

Lil anomie: I like your way of thinking. There used to be a time when kids could play outside and not have to worry about anything except to make sure to come in when it got dark out.

The victim was this child, not his mother. His mother is supposed to protect him, she did not do that. Yes in a perfect world none of us would have to worry about something like this but this isn't the first time I've heard about this happening and I'm sure she's heard of it too.

That's what we all hope for....someday. And in the meantime don't lay blame on the person who has made the mistake, just learn from them and remind yourself every time you hear about it happening: I must NEVER leave my children unattended in the car with the engine running!!!!

The mother made a bad judgement call, but she did not commit a crime. The car thief did.

@flbikerchick - actually she did commit a crime leaving the children in the car unattended, that's against the law in Texas. It's even against the law to leave your keys in the ignition. Because, honestly, carjackings happen pretty often. She should have known better, but hopefully she does now!

When was this sacred, quiet, wonderful time? When I was about 11 a school friend wanted me to go on a walk with her, so, I did, but the further from town we got, the more afraid I became and so I told her I was going home. She got to her destination and there were 3 or 4 young men there, who ended up raping her.

Later, as a teen, a man tried to get me to climb into his car and he would take me home. My home was a short distance away and I told him "no" and he insisted I get into his car. I then ran away as fast as I could because, I am a very big coward.

I am now in my 70's, so I am curious as to when this quiet safe time was. Believe me, I do not trust many people and their motives, until, I am sure of their intent.

Rad, this isnt the back woods where I grew up. This is HOUSTON. When I go back home, I dont have to worry about my kids outside in the cow pasture, but when I am back at my house in Sacremento, I am always on guard and wont let my kids play in the front yard without me or my wife out there watching them.

Really? A Idiot?

Good point

Southernman76: I absolutely think the mother was wrong for leaving the children in the car unattended. However, don't read too much into the comment "dropped everything and ran toward the car". Think about it like this - most women carry a purse - we put our ATM cards in a wallet, and put the wallet inside the purse. According to the article, she could see the man dressed in black jump in the car. She ran outside, and her niece jumped out of the car. She dropped everything and ran after the car. She could've easily not had her wallet and purse put back together when she saw the man get into her car. First instinct would be to run outside after them - not take the time to put the ATM back in the wallet, the wallet back in the purse, etc., etc. - which means her hands would've been full.

Even if that's not what happened (say she had everything back in her purse when she noticed the man get in the car) dropping everything doesn't automatically imply multiple things - it just means everything that was in her hands (that could've been one time).

Essentially - yes, she was stupid for leaving the kids in the car (no one should ever do that under any circumstances) - but, "dropping everything" doesn't mean that she was in the store for longer than she states.

Yes, watch them like hawks all the time. Put baby monitors on their cribs. Make them wear backpacks with leashes. Escort them to and from their bus stop 10 feet away. You never when a thief is lurking in the bushes, ready to take off with your kids the second they get a chance!

She was the victim of an unforeseeable crime. As for the typical dangers of leaving a child unattended in a car (heat stroke, hypothermia)... she took precautions against those (left the heat on, made it quick). Get a grip.

This was not an "unforseeable crime". These types of crimes happen all the time and are in the news, all the time. Which is why we lock our doors at night, lock our cars and night, and DON"T LEAVE OUR CHILDREN ALONE IN A RUNNING CAR WITH THE DOORS UNLOCKED!! Stupidity at its best!

BTW...a seven year old is NOT old enough to be responsible for herself, let alone another child!!

JLM - you are the idiot! There are laws about leaving children in cars alone for a reason. Even if it is not danger from what happened to this woman, in a running car a child could easily get unbuckled and make the car move, thus causing an accident. I am a parent of 5 children and I would never leave them alone in a car, whether it was on or not. It is just lazyness that causes people to leave the kids in the car rather than unbuckle them and take them in. And I am not one of those overprotective parents. My kids are allowed to ride their bikes in the neighborhood, go to the bus by themselves, and play in our yard without me having to be right there the whole time. Leaving kids alone in a running car is just plain lazy and a lack of common sense.

These things are not foreseeable. There are 7 billion people in the world, so even if it did happen once a day, it would be incredibly rare. I do not lock my home. I do not lock my car. I leave my keys in the ignition. In fact, I keep a spare key zippy-tied to the frame in case I get locked out.

Could a thief traipse into my house and rob me? I guess. Could someone sneak into my unlocked car and steal my gym bag that I keep in there? Sure. Could they joy-ride my car for awhile? Maybe until I noticed and Onstar located it. Could someone fumble around my vehicle and find my hidden spare somewhere on my occasionally locked vehicle? Technically, yes. But why would any one do this? Who goes around jiggling door knobs, in hopes that one is unlocked and hopefully unoccupied? No one. They target places that they have scouted out safely. (Except in the case of a running, empty vehicle, which is obvious.)

There is a very real danger of routinely locking things. We have a few sad incidents every year of schoolchildren being dropped off by a bus in subzero temperatures to a locked house, because the parents got delayed or forgot or someone lost a key. We have people locked out of their cars on remote roads, where there is little traffic and no cell phone reception. This year a man was stranded in subzero temperatures and found unconscious, hypothermic and barely alive 2 days later huddling in his backseat after using up all his fuel to keep warm awaiting an unlikely rescue; he had gotten stuck after a heavy snow. I've lost my keys on a 3-mile mountain hike, with no hope of recovering them, and would not have been able to start my remotely parked vehicle without that spare I kept on it. I would say that locks are just as dangerous as thieves, depending on your circumstances.