An Illinois woman has been arrested after police say she left her two children in her car in single-digit temperatures, with a loaded handgun under the front seat, while she went shopping at Target.
Kadesha Clark, 29, was taken into custody Friday on charges of endangering the life of a child and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
Police responded to the Target in Joliet, about 35 miles southwest of Chicago, just after 5 p.m. after receiving a report of a young child who was left unattended in a Nissan Sentra in the parking lot.
When officers arrived, they discovered two children were actually in the vehicle, which was not running: a 2-year-old, who was sitting in the front seat with the window down, and an 8-year-old, who was lying on the floor in the back seat.
"Officers noted the temperature at the time of this incident was approximately 9 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill of approximately -10 degrees Fahrenheit," Joliet Police Sgt. Dwayne English told The Herald-News.
The children were allegedly left unattended for about 45 minutes before officers arrived and moved them to a warm squad car.
About 15 minutes after officers arrived, Clark returned to her car with purchases from Target. She told officers she thought she had left the vehicle running, The Herald-News reported. At that point, she was placed in custody.
Officers then learned from one of the children that a gun was under the front seat and upon searching the vehicle, they found a loaded firearm that Clark was not licensed to carry, English told the newspaper.
Clark was later released on a notice to appear on the charges. Her children were placed in the care of family members.
