Neglected Texas child, 3, tells police: 'I need a beer'

When police in Lubbock, Texas, were called to investigate a report of a three-year-old girl wandering alone in an apartment complex, they weren't sure what they might find.

The girl was "extremely dirty", with red bumps from bedbug bites covering her skin. A neighbour who sometimes babysits the girl said the filth was a result of the girl playing outside.

If officers had any doubts that the child needed help, those were erased a short time later, when the girl repeatedly told them "I'm hungry" and dropped a shocking one-liner: "I need a beer."

"This was a clear neglect on the mother's part," Lubbock Police Lt Ray Mendoza told the station. "More than anything, it was the conditions the child was living under and the fact that the mom was completely oblivious to where the child had been or where [she] was at the time."

This is very sad. The child has been neglected and exposed to danger, and another shocking aspect is that she  has been exposed to alcohol at the tender age of 3 years old, which is very detrimental to her well-being. There is the possibility of her becoming dependent on alcohol in the future as a result of this.

And what did her mother have to say for herself?

Oh my goodness, this is one of the most shocking news articles I've read all my life. She is just a three-year-old girl and she wants...beer? This is truly terrible. Aside from being neglected, she was also exposed to alcohol at such a young age. I just hope she is not receiving any more abuse other than that. She needs a better family to take care of her, that's for sure.:/