Fla. woman arrested after her car caught fire with kids inside while she was at mall allegedly shoplifting

OVIEDO, Fla. (TCD) — Police near Orlando arrested a 24-year-old woman after her car caught on fire while two young children were inside and she was allegedly shoplifting inside a mall.

According to an arrest report, on May 26 at noon, Alicia Moore parked her car outside of a Dillard’s department store at a mall in Oviedo and went inside. Two children, whose ages and names were redacted, remained in the car while Moore and an unnamed male entered Dillard’s and allegedly started taking items.

Security reportedly surveilled the two for about an hour before Moore left the store. When she left, she saw her car “engulfed in flames” and “dropped the stolen merchandise prior to exiting the establishment.”

The Oviedo Police Department arrest report says mall goers saw one of the children attempting to exit the car while it was on fire, and they helped rescue the kids. The Oviedo police and fire departments arrived at the scene and “rushed” the children to Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital. The kids “suffered several first-degree burns,” and one had burns on her face and ears.

Moore’s car was totaled, and photos shared by the Oviedo Police Department show the vehicle severely damaged and melted down.

The arrest report noted, “It is undetermined what ignited the fire, however, if Moore was not being neglectful, it is unlikely [redacted] would have been injured.”

Seminole County Jail records show Moore was booked on charges of child neglect with great bodily harm, first-degree arson, and other outstanding warrants out of Sumter County.

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