Florida mom arrested after leaving baby, other children in big rig with loaded gun, police say
A Jacksonville mother is facing multiple charges after police say she left her three children alone in a tractor trailer with a loaded pistol at a truck stop in Palm Beach County.
According to Riviera Beach police, officers were called around 1:38 p.m. on Sept. 8 after the rig had been sitting at a gas pump for three hours. When police arrived, they found the truck running with no adults nearby.
A 16-year-old boy rolled down the window and told officers he could not move the truck before closing it again. Police also saw a 5-year-old girl moving around inside the cab. The boy and the girl eventually got out of the vehicle and told officers a baby was still inside.
Riviera Beach police say baby found inside truck with loaded pistol
For the baby's safety, an officer entered the truck and removed a 20-month-old girl, according to a press release from Riviera Beach police.
On the floorboard between the front seats, police said they found a Glock Model 26 9mm semi-automatic pistol with seven rounds loaded, including one in the chamber. The gun was not in a holster, police said.
Officers later located a couple.
The 26-year-old truck driver, whose name was not released, denied ownership of the weapon.
The children's mother, identified as 36-year-old TorQuita Tashe Griffin, admitted the gun was hers and said she and her companion had left the children alone for about an hour to get food.
Griffin was arrested and booked into the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Main Detention Center around 8:30 p.m. Monday. She faces three counts of child abuse, three counts of unsafe storage of a firearm and two counts of child neglect.
Both adults were also cited for trespassing at the truck stop.
The Florida Department of Children and Families was notified and is conducting an investigation.