PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – A woman was arrested Monday after police said she left a 5-year-old boy alone in a hot car while shopping at Walmart in Pembroke Pines.
Pembroke Pines police said they responded to a child neglect call at the Walmart located at 12800 Pines Blvd., just before 2:30 p.m.
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According to authorities, 62-year-old Martine Louis-Jacques left the child unattended in a gray 2012 Mercedes while she went inside the store.
Her arrest report states that the car’s engine was off and all windows were up, resulting in no air circulation for the boy.
Walmart employees reported that the boy was seen “frantically” knocking on the car’s window to get their attention and appeared scared and distraught, according to police.
Police said by the time Walmart employees intervened, Louis-Jacques had been in the store for about twenty minutes.
The employees unlocked the vehicle and took the child inside, where he was eventually reunited with his mother, according to the report.
Louis-Jacques left the store with the boy before law enforcement arrived at around 2:51 p.m.
Authorities said surveillance footage from Walmart captured the entire incident, including Louis-Jacques parking the car and entering the store without the boy.
Jail records show Louis-Jacques is facing one count of child neglect without great bodily harm.
Police have not disclosed the relationship between Louis-Jacques and the victim.
As of Tuesday, she is being held on a $3,500 bond at the Broward Main Jail.
Editor’s note: The original story stated that the victim was identified as a 5-year-old girl, but Pembroke Pines police confirmed Wednesday that the victim was identified as a 5-year-old boy. The story has been corrected.