HUMBLE, Texas – Two mothers are accused of leaving their young children in a mall play area unattended while they went shopping.
Humble police say Alicia Lashae Francis and Lashava Jean Ervin were contacted after a witness says the two left their three children for about an hour at Deerbrook Mall.
"As a parent, you never leave your child anywhere at a strange place or unattended," parent Tina McGriff said after hearing of the allegations. "At any given second, they can (hurt) themselves; someone can take them. It's very selfish of a parent to even think of that."
Officers took the three children to a substation until the mothers arrived. At that point, family members arrived to take custody of the children.
"That's crazy," said another parent, Wafaa Abdelmessiah. "I mean how do you leave your child there? You can't do that. That's scary."
Ervin -- mother of two of the children, ages 3 and 5 -- and Francis -- mother of a 4-year-old child -- are both facing abandoning a child charges.
Ervin, 24, and Francis, 24, are being held in the Harris County Jail on $2,000 bond each.