A mother in Florida is in hot water with the law after she abandoned her infant in her car on Thanksgiving night as she went holiday shopping.
Inside Edition reports that 21-year-old Shannon Bunkley was charged with child neglect after she allegedly left her 4-month-old in a car seat outside a Target store in Panama City.
A Good Samaritan reportedly called 911 after pulling up next to Bunkley’s car on Thursday night and seeing the tiny baby alone in the back seat.
After authorities arrived at the scene and found the baby in the car, workers from children’s services were asked to meet them.
Although police officers asked Target supervisors to tell the parents of the infant to come outside, nobody came forward after the announcement.
Investigators say Bunkley was arrested about 40 minutes after the announcement, when she finally returned to the car with her boyfriend.
Police reported that “due to the totality of the circumstances,” Bunkley was immediately arrested and charged with child neglect.
Her baby was then turned over to relatives by the Department of Children and Families.
