BY MATT HERSH

Salem police charged a Haverhill, Mass., woman with child endangerment after her two young children were found alone in a parked car.

Mary-Anne Beaudoin, 27, left her two children, ages 2 and 6, in the car with the windows up while she shopped at Wal-Mart on North Broadway, police officials said.

Another shopper who was walking through the parking lot noticed the two children. The shopper called police and fire officials, reporting that one child seemed to be unconscious.

When police and fire officials arrived, they opened the car doors and found that the two children had been asleep. Both were uninjured, but the car was hot and humid.

Deputy Police Chief William Ganley said the length of time the children were in the car is not known, but Beaudoin said she had only been in the store for a minute.

“This was obviously not a good judgment call on her part,” Ganley said. “It’s one thing to leave an older child in a car but in this heat, you’re not even supposed to leave a dog in your car.  This was a very bad decision.”

Beaudoin was issued a summons and released at the scene.  She is scheduled to appear in Salem District Court on Sept. 10.

“We’ll be contacting the social service agencies about this,” Ganley said.