Three people were arrested on Thursday after a small child was seen wandering an apartment complex in 100-degree-plus heat.
At around 4:15 p.m. on July 28, Lubbock Police Department responded to a call from a staff member of the apartment complex. The staff member reported that the child was walking around near the complex’s entrance gate, crying.
The child was wearing only underwear and was shoeless on “hot pavement.”
When the temperature reaches 100 degrees, children, whose skin is more sensitive than adults’, can get second-degree burns from the pavement.
The child has allegedly been found wandering the complex by themselves before, according to the police report. The staff member assumed the residents, Katherine Carrillo, 20, Almazen Abdel, 22, and Muhannad Ayman Abdel, 21, were not at home, as their cars were gone.
Police found the apartment unlocked.
Trash and feces were smeared on the walls, likely by the child, according to police. They found a small dog outside on the balcony, with little water and no shelter. This violates a Texas law that went into effect just this year, stating that dogs cannot be left outside without adequate shelter.
When the mother, Carillo, returned home at around 6:30 p.m., she told police she had gone to work at 8:00 a.m. and left the child in the care of her roommates, Almazen Abdel and Muhannad Ayman Abdel.
One of the roommates (it is not clear which) arrived at about 6:45 p.m. and was detained. He allegedly told police he and the other roommate, his brother, would leave the child unattended but make sure to lock the patio and front doors.
After arresting the roommate, an officer went to retrieve the man’s phone from his vehicle, reportedly at the man’s request. The officer searched for the key fob to turn off and lock the running vehicle, according to police. Upon searching in the center console for the key fob, he allegedly found three bags of cocaine.
When the second roommate arrived shortly afterward, he was also arrested. Carillo and both Abdels have been charged with child abandonment or neglect. They were being held in the Lubbock County Detention Center as of Friday.
I guess that’s what the cops call “taking out the trash”. Poor child, maybe he’ll get a chance to have real parents some day.