A college student and mother of two was charged with child abandonment after leaving her kids near a mall food court to go to a job interview.
The mother, Laura Browder, said she did not have time to line-up child care. She said she purchased food for her children at a McDonald’s at the Memorial City Mall in Houston and then sat them down.
She said her two children, a six-year-old daughter and two-year-old son, were “in view,” about roughly 30 feet away.
KHOU-TV in Houston reports Browder’s arrest came “moments” after she accepted the job offer. An officer approached her shortly after.
Browder told KHOU-TV what happened was “unfortunate.” Her full statement is below:
I had a interview with a very great company with lots of career growth. I am a college student and mother of two. I would never put my name, background or children in harms way intentionally. I have a promising future ahead of me regardless of what the media tries to portray me as. A judge released my children to me knowing that I was a good mother who just made a not so smart decision. My children weren’t even 30 yards away from me, I fed them and sat there with them until it was time to meet with my interviewer. This too will pass and I am not concerned with outsiders have to say or what they think.
Browder also posted a status update on her Facebook page, telling her friends her two children are with her providing “all the strength” she needs: