NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A mother is facing charges after police say one of her children was found wandering alone in Norfolk — and the other three were home alone. 

Norfolk police said officers were flagged down at 4:45 a.m. Friday by a concerned citizen who found a 10-year old boy wandering along Tidewater Drive, in the Barraud Park neighborhood.

The child was uninjured, but police said it was determined he lived on Washington Avenue — about a half mile from where he was found.

Police said officers found a 13-year-old girl and two infants inside the home who had been left unattended.

The mother of the children, 34-year-old Joy Hairston, has been charged with four counts of child neglect.

“Maybe social services will get involved and understand she should not have children in here,” said Serina Gibbs, who lives near Hairston. “This is not the first time something like this has happened.”

The 10-year-old boy that was found has mental disabilities, Gibbs said. 

“Oh yeah, he wanders,” Gibbs said. “Yeah he wears a diaper and all that and he is never supposed to be left alone. There is supposed to be someone with him 24-7.”

While the mother has been released from jail on bond, according to the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office, the children are now with another family member, police said.