9-month-old boy hospitalized after being left for 30 minutes in car outside Whole Foods in Boston

By Matt Rocheleau, Globe Correspondent

A 9-month-old boy was hospitalized after his mother left him inside a car parked at a Boston grocery store Sunday afternoon, when temperatures were in the high 80s, according to Boston Police.

Two security guards saw the child in a car at the Whole Foods Market at Charles River Plaza and call police, who arrived just before 1 p.m.

The boy was alert, but he was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital to be evaluated, police said.

The infant’s mother ran out of the store when she realized she had accidentally left him in the car, according to police. The security guards told officers that the mother said she left the boy alone for about 30 minutes.

“This could have turned out to be a terrible tragedy,” Boston Police spokeswoman Cheryl Fiandaca said in a statement. “Fortunately the security guards saw the child and called for help.”

Fiandaca added that while the leaving of the child appeared to be accidental, a child abuse and neglect report will be filed with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.

According to the National Weather Service, temperatures at Logan Airport in Boston were about 87 degrees at noon and reached 89 degrees by 1 p.m.