Mother Arrested After 1-Year-Old Is Left in Car

A crowd of two dozen bystanders applauded police Saturday as they arrested a West Hills woman on charges of leaving her 1-year-old girl alone in a sealed station wagon for at least 45 minutes while she shopped at a Costco warehouse store, Los Angeles police said.

The baby’s mother, Hyun Cho, was taken into custody on suspicion of child endangerment, a felony charge, Sgt. Dan Mastro said. The child appeared to be in good condition.

“At this time we have no idea why she would leave that baby alone,” Mastro said. “The sad thing about this was seeing the mother arrested.”

Mastro said about 25 people gathered near the car and cheered police as they took Cho into custody.

The crowd was reminiscent of people who jeered an Illinois couple who were arrested at O’Hare International Airport after leaving their children home alone while taking a nine-day Acapulco holiday.

“They were appalled that a mother would leave a 1-year-old in the car unattended,” Mastro said.

A concerned shopper contacted a store security guard after seeing the girl locked in a station wagon parked in a remote section of the store’s parking lot in Canoga Park, Mastro said.

The security guards called police. When they arrived the girl was strapped into a car seat in the back of the station wagon, Mastro said.

“The doors were locked and the windows were up,” he said.

Officers were about to call city firefighters for assistance when Cho appeared.

“She ran up with her grocery cart and her 4-year-old boy apparently thinking something had happened to the baby,” Mastro said. Cho was arrested at the scene.

Cho’s children were placed in protective custody, Mastro said.