A Florida woman, accused of shoplifting at a Dillard’s department store, found her car ablaze with her two children inside, while she was in the mall.
Alicia Moore, 24, from Orlando, reportedly left her car in the parking lot outside the Oviedo Mall on May 26, with her two young children inside alone.
Moore, accompanied by an unidentified man, entered the store to shoplift and was surveilled by Dillard’s cameras and staff. Approximately an hour later, she left the mall to find her vehicle consumed by fire.
On seeing the vehicle in flames, Moore reportedly abandoned the allegedly stolen items and rushed toward the car. Witnesses and shoppers in the area intervened, aiding in rescuing the children from the burning car. According to the police report, one child suffered first-degree burns to the face and ears. The kids were transported to Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital.
Video footage from a Tesla dash cam in the parking lot, shared by the City of Oviedo, revealed the car’s rear windows and front windshield shattering as flames and smoke exploded from within. The car was completely destroyed.
The cause of the fire remains unclear.
Moore was arrested on an unrelated warrant on May 31 and was charged with several crimes, including aggravated child neglect, arson, petty theft, and battery. Currently detained in Seminole County Jail, Moore’s bond is set at $48,000, according to jail records.
Investigators explained that Moore is being charged with arson because the fire occurred during the commission of a felony.
The City of Oviedo shared a video of the fire with news media.
