A car robbery took a strange turn when the thief discovered a child in the backseat of the car.
When the thief discovered the surprise passenger, he drove back to the mother and demanded she take child out of the car and then drove off.
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“He actually lectured the mother for leaving the child in the car and threatened to call the police on her,” Officer Matt Henderson, who responded to the incident, told the The Oregonian.
The robbery occurred when the mom stopped at the grocery store at 9:10 a.m. She ran inside to grab a gallon of milk and some meat, according to Henderson of the local Beaverton, Oregon Police Department.
According to reports, the mom was never more than 15 feet from the car, but did leave the car running and the doors unlocked. The woman was only inside for a few minutes before the car was stolen.
“What she did was not a crime. She was within sight and sound of her child,” Henderson said. “But she left the car running, so take that extra step, take the keys with you. It’s a good reminder to take extra precaution when we have our little ones with us.”
Moments later, the thief was back to return her four-year-old and yell at her for leaving her child in the car.
Henderson noted this was a “crime of opportunity” once the thief seeing the keys in the ignition.
“Obviously, we’re thankful he brought the little one back and had the decency to do that,” Henderson said.