Teen Mom 'Annoyed' with 2-Year-Old's Crying During Smurfs Movie Left Child In Hot Car: Police

In news out of Florida, Tripura Merriex has been charged with neglect of a child without bodily harm after allegedly leaving her daughter "unattended in a 2022 Cadillac Escalade" outside a Regal Cinema in Lake City on July 19.

Authorities were called to the scene following reports of a child locked in a vehicle, said the Lake City Police Department in a statement.

"Upon arrival, officers located the vehicle with a two-year-old child visibly distressed inside," said police. "Officers immediately broke the driver's side window to remove the child, who appeared flushed, sweating, and crying."

The child was then taken to a nearby medical center for treatment. Per a police report, via Law&Crime, the young girl had been in the Escalade for at least 30 minutes.

Police say the girl's mother had taken her daughter and younger siblings to the movies to see the new Smurfs film.

"After multiple disruptions in the theater, Merriex removed her child and left her unattended inside a locked vehicle while returning to the theater," authorities said in a release.

Police said Merriex had a "very nonchalant demeanor as her child was in the locked vehicle," and claimed she said she "accidentally" locked her daughter in the vehicle. Authorities noted she "acted as though the whole situation wasn't a big deal as she just stood next to her vehicle."

She allegedly said the girl "kept crying loudly" and caused a "disturbance" in the theater, before saying she first brought the child to the lobby to calm her down. An employee reportedly said Merriez appeared "very annoyed with her daughter's crying," before she then, per police, left the child in the vehicle. The arrest report says she kept coming out to check on the girl, before enlisting her siblings with doing it for her.

"After a few trips of Mrs. Merriex going out to her vehicle, the other two individuals that she had come into the cinema with started alternating out on every other trip," police wrote in the arrest report.

"Witnesses confirmed Merriex remained inside the building while the child remained alone in extreme heat conditions," said cops. "Officers also discovered the outside temperature was 94 degrees with a heat index of 107 degrees."

When interviewed by police, Merriex's husband reportedly said she "had a history of very un-rational decision making when it came to her dealing with their daughter's crying," before adding she had "negative reactions to stress related to being a parent" and issues with "patience."

She's being held on $50,000 bond.

"Leaving a child unattended in a vehicle under these conditions is unacceptable," Police Chief Gerald Butler said in a statement. "We are thankful the child is safe and urge all parents to prioritize the well-being of their children at all times."