The Walmart Supercenter located on Commerce Drive in Lafayette, Indiana (Google Maps).
An Indiana father is accused of leaving his three children in a hot car outside Walmart until a witness heard the kids screaming and offered help.
Hugue Ipoma faces three counts of neglect of a dependent, according to Tippecanoe County court records reviewed by Law&Crime. His age is unclear.
On July 1 at about 5 p.m., a woman was in the parking lot of a Walmart in Lafayette, Indiana, when she heard something. The noises were apparently children screaming and crying from a car.
The witness called 911, and officers with the Lafayette Police Department arrived to find a man with three children trying to drive away from the scene, regional Fox affiliate WXIN reported. The woman then told officers that the man — identified as Ipoma — had left the children in the vehicle with the windows cracked and the car off while he went inside the store.
The weather outside was reportedly scorching, with much of Indiana under an extreme heat warning and recorded temperatures rising to around 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
When the father came out of the store, the witness said he rolled all the windows down and wiped sweat off his children before trying to drive away. Officers stopped him, and medics checked out the children, finding that they were sweaty but not overheated.
Ipoma was identified as the suspect. Police said they reviewed security footage and learned that he was in the store for more than 10 minutes while the car's temperature reached up to 94 degrees Fahrenheit.
Police said they found the children's mother at her residence and brought her to the Walmart so she could take custody of the kids.
Law&Crime reached out to the Lafayette Police Department for more information on the case.
Ipoma is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 5.