OVIDEO, Fla. (WTVO) — A woman is facing charges of aggravated child neglect and arson after her car caught fire while she was reportedly shoplifting at a Florida mall last month.
According to the Ovideo Police Department, Alicia Moore, 24, left her car in the parking lot of a department store on May 26th while she and an unnamed man went into the store and began shoplifting.
Police said Moore had left children unattended in the vehicle. An hour later, as she was leaving the store, she saw her car engulfed in flames and dropped the merchandise.
According to CBS News, bystanders rescued the children from the burning car. One child suffered burns to her face and ears, police said.
Moore was charged with aggravated child neglect for leaving children who could not care for themselves inside the vehicle, and was charged with arson because the fire happened while she was committing a felony, according to the police report.
“It is undetermined what ignited the fire, however, if Moore was not being neglectful, it is unlikely [the child] would have been injured,” police said.