FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — A 26-year-old mother is facing felony charges after her three young children were rescued from a hot car.

Fairfax County police say officers were called to the 5600 block of Columbia Pike on Tuesday at around 2 p.m. for a report that three children were locked inside of a car in a parking lot. Police say the children, ages 5, 6, and 7, had been inside the car for at least 45 minutes and were suffering from heat exhaustion when they were rescued.

Police say one child punched through a taped-up window.

Police say Alexa Faulkinson has been charged with three counts of cruelty to a child. She told police she left the children in the car because she didn’t want to bring them with her to work.

The children have been released to their stepfather.