Passers-By Confront Mother Who Left Baby In Car In Canoga Park

CANOGA PARK (CBSLA) — A tense situation involving an unattended baby in a car could have been much worse had police and firefighters not arrived at the scene when they did.

Passers-by in a parking lot at a Canoga Park shopping center were shocked Wednesday when they found a small child in a locked car on this typically warm morning.

Police and the fire department were notified and arrived right before bystander Michael Ali attempted to break the front glass of the vehicle with a pair of bolt cutters.

"It's frustrating," Ali told CBS2 News. "How can a mother do that and not think twice?"

His cell phone video captured the moment the child's mother finally came running back to the vehicle. She was immediately berated by some of the people who had gathered by the car.

One upset woman can be heard screaming, "Are you serious right now?" An altercation between the women was avoided when a police officer stepped between them.

"Do you know how hard it was for me not to break your window?" another woman berated.

The woman only answered, "I'm not upset at anyone," and said "thank you."

A child endangerment report was filed, and child protective services were notified.