A Florida mother was busy shoplifting at a department store when her car suddenly caught fire with her two children trapped inside, police say.
Alicia Moore, 24, parked her car outside Dillard’s department store in the Oviedo mall on May 26 with her two young children inside who ‘couldn’t look after themselves’ according to a report from police obtained by Fox Orlando.
The Orlando native then walked into the store with a man, who has not been identified, and allegedly began stealing from the store, according to police.
Almost an hour later, she left the store to find her car engulfed in a massive fire.
The mother dropped all of the allegedly stolen items in the store and ran to the vehicle, cops said.
After the explosion, shoppers and nearby witnesses sprang into action and helped rescue the children inside.
A child suffered first-degree burns to his face and ears, according to the police report.
Video shared by the city of Oviedo, taken on a Tesla dash cam in the parking lot, shows the white car’s rear windows and front windshield shattering as massive flames and smoke billow violently inside.
The vehicle was destroyed in the fire, police said.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.
Moore was arrested May 31 and charged with gross child neglect and arson, as well as petty theft and assault. She is being held in the Seminole County Jail on $48,000 bond, prison records show.
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