"Why was the mother of a 3 year old 5 feet away--at a Walmart?"
Why was a very heavy mirror a child could pull over on himself placed in the children's section?
You misread. The mirror obviously came to life and fell onto the child of its own accord.
I'm sure it's all captured on the security tape.
Why was a very heavy mirror a child could pull over on himself placed in the children's section?
This is the crux of the matter. A heavy object, something which requires 2 adults to lift, should be secure enough that it doesn't fall over - regardless of who was near it, whether they are playing, walking by, or bumping into it with a shopping cart. I'm the first one to assign parental responsibility where it is warranted but, from the information here, WalMart was negligent.
Why wasn't the child in a cart, right there in front of the mother? It drives me nuts when I go to Walmart and see little (toddler) kids running all over the place. I can't count the number of times I've almost ran over a child with my cart because they came running out of a side aisle.
And 5 feet is a huge distace in Walmart, very easy to lose track of someone, especially if the store is busy.
Walmart should implement a safe child policy - if your child is not in a cart, positioned properly, they ask you to leave. I've seen our commissary do that a few times.
Very heavy floor mirrors don't usually fall over unless they have some help.
All that being said, prayers for the mother and Walmart.