Mother facing charges after allegedly overdosing while shopping with 2-year-old child

The New Hampshire mother who allegedly overdosed inside a Lawrence dollar store while shopping with her 2-year-old daughter was placed on probation Monday and ordered to continue drug treatment until her case is resolved, officials said.

Mandy McGowan, of Salem, N.H., is charged with one count of child endangerment, according to the Essex County District Attorney’s office. At her arraignment Monday, she was ordered to continue treatment at the Banyan Treatment Center in Wilmington, report to probation officers twice a week by phone, undergo drug and alcohol screenings, and comply with the New Hampshire Department of Children and Families.

McGowan will appear in court Jan. 13 for a pre-trial hearing.

In September, Lawrence police released a video, taken by a bystander, that showed McGowan passed out in an aisle as her daughter tried to wake her up. Several people in the store were watching, but didn’t intervene.

The child was taken into the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.

Lawrence Police Chief James Fitzpatrick said at the time that the overdose was testament to the terrible power of the region’s opioid epidemic.

“It just shows how powerful this narcotic is, that people in the throes of addiction are willing to put their loved ones in danger to feed the addiction,” Fitzpatrick said.