Mom leaves 4-month-old baby alone in car while she shops for holiday deals: Cops
(INSIDE EDITION) - A 21-year-old mother left her infant alone in a car while she went shopping for Thanksgiving sale deals, police said.
Shannon Bunkley was charged with child neglect after she allegedly left the baby strapped in a car seat outside a Target store in Panama City, Florida, authorities said.
The vehicle was not locked. A driver called 911 after pulling next to Bunkley's car in the store's parking lot on Thanksgiving night and seeing the unattended 4-month-old, police said.
Officers responded and then called children's services workers after finding the baby. They told Target supervisors to make an announcement over the public address system, but no one responded to a call for the baby's parents to come forward, police said.
Bunkley was arrested about 40 miles later, when she and her boyfriend returned to her car, authorities said.
The woman was released to attend a pre-trial program after being booked into the Bay County Jail, according to nwfdailynews.com.
A phone message left by InsideEdition.com on Wednesday with the Panama City Police Department was not immediately returned.