A six-year-old child has died after he was brutally beaten with a metal baseball bat by his stepfather last week.
Jathan Escobar, 6, was put on life support and declared brain dead after the attack. He died on Wednesday, as reported by WFSB.
Bridgeport police have arrested his stepfather, 38-year-old Abdulrahim Sulaiman, and charged him with three counts of attempted murder in connection with the case. He was also charged with three counts of first-degree assault, two counts of risk of injury to a child, and criminal possession of a firearm, per News 8 WTNH.
What Led to the Beating
A police report stated that the gruesome assault happened on Sept. 25 in the 2400 block of Main Street in Bridgeport. Officers said they responded to a report of an adult and children being assaulted inside the apartment that morning. That call was later found to have been made by Escobar's mother.
"Please help us," she said in the call, as reported by PEOPLE. "He's hitting us with a bat."
When police arrived, Sulaiman was seen muttering and walking away from the scene. He was promptly taken into custody.
A further investigation led officers to find three victims in the apartment. The mother, whose identity was not publicly revealed, was bleeding and had a hole in her head. She was found to be cradling Jathan, who was bleeding profusely. Lastly, officers found his 4-year-old brother, who also suffered life-threatening injuries.
Emergency responders who performed CPR on Jathan noted that they saw visible "brain matter" in a hole on the top of his head.
All victims were rushed to the hospital. Both the mother and the 4-year-old kid are expected to survive. Jathan was declared brain dead.
Speaking to police, the mother said Sulaiman accused her of having an affair. She also said Jathan's stepfather was smoking PCP recently.
Sulaiman's Record
Police records showed Sulaiman had prior convictions. This included a felony assault and risk of injury to a minor in 2021.
While unreported, the mother mentioned that Sulaiman had previously threatened to kill her and the children and had also sexually assaulted her at gunpoint.
A GoFundMe campaign has since been set up by a family relative.
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