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Mother Arrested After Firing Gun In Home, Leaving Child In Crib As She Went To Local Bar

Centerville, UNITED STATES: A Walther P22 pistol, which according to media reports is similar to one of the weapons used by 23-year-old South Korean student Cho Seung-Hui in the Virginia Tech massacre, is pictured 17 April 2007 in Centerville, Virginia. Cho Seung-Hui moved to the United States when he was just eight, but 15 years later his name is set to be permanently etched on the tragic roll call of US school and campus killings after he mowed down 32 people before turning his gun on himself. AFP PHOTO/Tim Sloan (Photo credit should read TIM SLOAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Tim Sloan/Getty Images

Kevin Harness Contributor
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A Florida mother was arrested late Thanksgiving night after she fired a gun in her home and left her child in a crib while she went out to a bar, according to authorities.

Deputies responded to a call from a woman who reportedly went to check on the mother, Victoria Hidalgo, after receiving a call from her which “sounded as though she was under the influence of alcohol,” and claimed that she fired a gun, according to a statement from the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office. (RELATED: ‘Shoot Me’: Woman Gets Arrested For Allegedly Attacking Flight Attendants, Fellow Passenger Zip-Ties Her Legs)

As the woman arrived at Hidalgo’s home, she noticed that a car they shared was not in its parking space and then found a bullet lodged into the front door, according to the statement.

Deputies arrived at Hidalgo’s home to investigate and found her child left unsupervised. The child was left in the care of a family member as they went out to find Hidalgo, the statement read.

“There is no excuse for an infant to be left in a home alone, nor is there a good explanation for the discharge of the firearm. It is clear that this woman’s priorities are way out of order, and I hope this experience serves as a wake-up call for her. I pray that things change and the child is properly cared for moving forward,” Sheriff Bill Prummell said in a statement.

Hidalgo was found in a vehicle with a man identified as Robert Sampson, who was driving the vehicle. Hidalgo’s breath smelled of alcohol, she was speaking in a slurred speech and her eyes were bloodshot and watery, according to the statement.

Sampson claimed that he had just met Hidalgo at the Paddy Wagon Irish Pub and offered to drive her home because he had concerns “that she was going to drive in a very intoxicated condition,” the statement read.

Hidlago was arrested on a charge of Child Neglect without Great Bodily Harm. She was taken to the Charlotte County Jail and released on a $3,500 bond, according to the statement.