Toddler Wails, Tugs at Overdosing Mom in Dollar Store: Video

LAWRENCE, MA — A New Hampshire woman who overdosed and passed out on the floor of a Dollar Store, only to have a store employee record video of her distraught, wailing toddler tug at her body, will face a child endangerment charge, according to police. Lawrence Police said on Sept. 21, 2016, that a complaint would be filed against Mandy McGowen, 36, of Haverhill Street in Salem, for a single count of child endangerment, according to the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune.

Police Chief James Fitzpatrick told the newspaper that after he viewed the video, he decided to have the charge filed in Lawrence District Court. The incident is still under investigation.

The following video contains disturbing content

The newspaper was the first to publish the video on Sept. 20, which depicts a young girl dressed in “Frozen” pajamas attempting to wake her mother up as she laid unconscious in the toy aisle of the Family Dollar store in that city on Sept. 18.

EMTs later arrived at the scene, administered Narcan, and revived MacGowen, according to the report.

Police allegedly found drug paraphernalia in her purse – straws with white residue – while searching for identification.

The video was shot by an employee at the store, according to the story, but after television stations across the nation picked up the story yesterday, it went viral, causing heartbreak and horror at the graphic nature of the footage.

Fitzpatrick told WFXT-TV 25 in Boston that it was “very disturbing to see someone obviously in the matter of addiction where it overtakes someone where they’re not able to take care of their child, leaves their child vulnerable.”

According to online reports, this isn’t MacGowen’s only brush with the law. In June, she was arrested in Derry on a theft charge, according to the Derry News.

Read the full report on eagletribune.com

Editor’s note: This post was derived from information supplied by police. It does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the name removal request process for NH Patch police reports.

Image credit: YouTube/TOBNEWS Screenshot