Moment shoppers smashed the windows of a hot car to save children who mother had left inside while she got a hair cut

  • Mother allegedly left her two children in the car while she had her hair cut
  • Group of passing shoppers heard the little boy and girl crying from inside the overheated car
  • Forecasters said temperatures reached up to 98 degrees in the town of Katy on Monday
  • They used a hammer to smash a back window of the locked car
  • One woman even climbed into the car to help guide the children out 
  • The rescuers decided not to call the police when the mother emerged from a salon and apologized

By Josh Gardner

Published: 00:40 EST, 15 July 2014 | Updated: 07:53 EST, 15 July 2014

A group of shoppers at a Texas strip mall smashed through a hot car's windows Monday to pull out two screaming children locked in by their mother, who was getting a haircut.

Video taken at the scene shows a group of men and women so desperate to get out the little boy and girl that one man took a hammer to the black Jeep's window as temperatures in the Houston suburb of Katy reached up to 98 degrees.

'The kids were in there crying,' nearby shop owner Gabriel Del Valle told KHOU. 'I mean you would understand. It’s real hot.'

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A group of shoppers at a Texas strip mall smashed through a hot car's windows Monday to pull out two screaming children locked in by their mother, who was getting a haircut. Video taken at the scene shows a group of men and women so desperate to get out the little boy and girl that one man took a hammer to the black Jeep's window as temperatures in the Houston suburb of Katy. 'The kids were in there crying,' nearby shop owner Gabriel Del Valle told KHOU. 'I mean you would understand. It?s real hot.'
A group of shoppers at a Texas strip mall smashed through a hot car's windows Monday to pull out two screaming children locked in by their mother, who was getting a haircut. Video taken at the scene shows a group of men and women so desperate to get out the little boy and girl that one man took a hammer to the black Jeep's window as temperatures in the Houston suburb of Katy. 'The kids were in there crying,' nearby shop owner Gabriel Del Valle told KHOU. 'I mean you would understand. It?s real hot.'

Desperate measures: Some shoppers at a Texas strip mall were so desperate to get two kids out of a hot car that they smashed a window with a hammer

Screaming kids: The rescue was caught on camera by a nearby shop owner who said the two kids were screaming and crying
A group of shoppers at a Texas strip mall smashed through a hot car's windows Monday to pull out two screaming children locked in by their mother, who was getting a haircut. Video taken at the scene shows a group of men and women so desperate to get out the little boy and girl that one man took a hammer to the black Jeep's window as temperatures in the Houston suburb of Katy. 'The kids were in there crying,' nearby shop owner Gabriel Del Valle told KHOU. 'I mean you would understand. It?s real hot.'

Screaming kids: The rescue was caught on camera by a nearby shop owner who said the two kids were screaming and crying. Even after they smashed the window, they had trouble getting them out because of child safety locks

Footage shows shoppers going so far as to crawl atop the car to try to climb inside when child safety locks kept them from opening the door.

It only took a few minutes to free the unharmed children.

By then, their mother had run outside the salon where she was getting her hair done.

 

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The mother said she'd only left them there temporarily but admitted she'd made a terrible mistake.

After the mother pleaded with them, the mob of shoppers decided not to call the police.

However, Del Valle was still left with a bad taste in his mouth.

Race against time: A woman is seen climbing into the Jeep window in order to guide the two children out of the overheated car

Race against time: A woman is seen climbing into the Jeep window in order to guide the two children out of the overheated car

Group effort: The video shows two men and a woman helping to free the children. The children are not shown on camera

Group effort: The video shows two men and a woman helping to free the children. The children are not shown on camera

It only took a few minutes to free the unharmed children.

By then, their mother had run outside the salon where she was getting her hair done.

The mother said she'd only left them there temporarily but admitted she'd made a terrible mistake.

After the mother pleaded with them, the mob of shoppers decided not to call the police.

However, Del Valle was still left with a bad taste in his mouth.

'Even a dog can die so imagine a person,' he told KHOU.



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Child protective services need to be contacted ASAP before she kills those kids.

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Why someone would leave their child alone in the first place is beyond me. But to leave them alone in a hot car is simply insane.

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This story was on the news just now...it was a misunderstanding. Surveillance video shows her going into a postal store with her children and then 2 minutes later walking out the store with them. The video then shows her running back into the store a few minutes later begging for help because she locked her keys in the car with the kids. That's why police was not called. Nonetheless, never leave your children in a car alone (regardless if it's hot or not).

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Never leave a child or animal alone in an unventilated vehicle, they will DIE

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I'm starting to believe these cases are intentionally done by the parents. All of a sudden it's numerous cases of children being left in cars like this... What is this the new trend???

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Not Florida, but Texas. No surprise there.

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They were concerned enough to BREAK the window but....DIDN'T CALL THE COPS!!! I WOULD HAVE!!

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They were concerned enough to Break the window...BUT THEY DIDN'T CALL THE COPS????

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This is why so much abuse goes unreported, because so many people decide not to call the police

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That is not Abuse!!! Stupidity yes but not abuse!

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No Angie, that's abuse.

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This is why so much abuse goes unreported, because so many people decide not to call the police

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