A 7-month-old boy died Saturday in Arizona after he was left inside a hot car for approximately two hours while the mother was inside a shopping mall.

Officers rushed to the parking lot of a JCPenney store Saturday after receiving reports that a child was found not breathing inside a parked car. Authorities said the vehicle's windows were rolled up. They performed life-saving measures while taking the baby to the hospital, but the child did not survive, AZ Central reported.

The mother found her son unresponsive inside the vehicle when she returned after spending two hours in the mall. Police did not say if the mother knew the baby was in the vehicle. The outside temperature on the day was 106 degrees, ABC 15 reported.

So far, no charges have been filed against the mother.

According to Kids and Cars, a nonprofit for children and pets, this was the first reported child hot car death in the state this year.

"Hot car deaths continue to take place because nobody believes this could happen to them," Janette Fennell, president of Kids and Cars, said last month after a 9-year-old died in a hot car incident in Utah. "The unfortunate reality is that this has happened to even the most loving, responsible, and attentive parents. Factors such as fatigue, stress, or a sudden change in routine can contribute to parents unknowingly leaving a child alone in a car."

The 9-year-old was left inside a hot car for approximately two hours. The vehicle was parked outside a facility for people with intellectual disabilities. A staff member reportedly placed the child in the car with the engine turned off, doors closed and windows up. When the person returned, the child was not breathing.

"It sounds as if he was picked up and brought here by a staff member, somehow there was multiple individuals who were brought here by that staff member," American Fork Police Sgt. Josh Christensen said at the time. "Everybody involved is taking this very hard."

police car
A representational image of a police car. pixabay
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