A young child in Maryland alerted authorities to a group of toddlers left alone in a hot car with the windows rolled up.

NBC News reports that a child, believed to be a 4-year-old boy, called 911 to report that he and six other children — determined to be ages 2-4 — had been left in a car and that he did not know where they were.

A police press release obtained by the news outlet showed that the children were found in a shopping mall parking lot in St. Charles. The car was reportedly unlocked but the windows were all rolled up. According to WJLA, the driver of the vehicle — and mother to two of the children inside — told the children not to leave the car while she gone, for an unknown period of time.

Authorities reportedly found only one car seat despite the young ages of all the children in the car. The boy who called 911 is believed to have used a phone that was left in the car.

WJLA reports that Charles County Fire & EMS treated the “scared” and “sweaty” children at the scene, and that none required further medical treatment.

The unidentified woman has reportedly been charged with confinement in a motor vehicle. She refused to explain to police where she had gone and why the children were left alone, according to the report.

Additional charges are possible, pending a consultation with the sheriff’s department and the State Attorney’s office.

[Feature image: Photo by Derwin Edwards from Pexels]