Police say that grandmother actually had three young children with her Thursday night but decided to take her 10-month-old grandchild in the store, leaving a two-year-old and a three-year-old in the car.
Houston police arrested Karen Hubert, 43, Thursday night after they say a witness pulled up next to her car and found her two grandsons, ages two and three, alone in Hubert's car without any car seats, and with the car turned off and the windows opened slightly.
Police say the witness waited for a several minutes, then called 911 because the grandmother had not returned and it was cold outside.
Authorities say when the Houston Fire Department arrived, officials went inside the store and paged Hubert who eventually came outside and unlocked her car door. Both children were placed in an ambulance to warm up. A short time later Hubert was placed in handcuffs.
Shoppers and parents say the "what-if's" are unthinkable.
"They could have run into the store, or run into some people or something, or caused an accident," one shopper said. "A minute could be a whole lifetime of trouble for the family, the whole family."
Police called the children's mother to the scene, who took all three kids into her custody. Police say the children were cold but were unharmed. Hubert faces a felony charge of endangering a child.
