A man who is accused of brutally beating a family member and her two young children with a baseball bat in Bridgeport on Wednesday morning appeared in court on Thursday and his bond has been set at $10 million.
One of the victims, a 6-year-old boy, is in critical condition, according to police.
The little boy’s 33-year-old mother and 4-year-old brother have been upgraded from critical to stable condition.
Court documents reveal disturbing details about what police said happened that led up to the arrest of 38-year-old Abdulrahim Sulaiman, of Bridgeport.
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The investigation started when officers responded to a home in the 2400 block of Main Street in Bridgeport, summoned by several 911 calls just before 10 a.m. reporting that a man was severely beating a woman and her children.
One of those calls was from the mother herself, who begged police for help and said Sulaiman was hitting her and her children with a bat, according to the affidavit.
The first officer at the scene saw Sulaiman walking toward him, with blood on his hands and arms, and muttering to himself, according to court records. And a witness pointed to the suspect and told the officer not to let Sulaiman get away.
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Police placed Sulaiman in a patrol vehicle and took him to police headquarters.
Other officers found the mother and children in an apartment where they sought refuge.
The 6-year-old was unresponsive, according to the affidavit.
All three victims were initially taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital, then the two children were flown to the pediatric emergency center at Yale New Haven Hospital.
The 4-year-old was later upgraded to stable condition and is expected to survive, according to police.
State’s Attorney Craig Nowak called the assault gruesome.
He declined to provide a full status update on the 6-year-old in court but said, “I will say to the court that I can disclose that the likelihood of survival of this individual is close to zero.”
When police spoke to the children’s mother, she told them that Sulaiman had been smoking angel dust and he had beaten her in the past.
She also told officers that he had threatened her with a gun and threatened to kill her and her children, according to the court records.
During their investigation, police watched video from the area and said it showed a baseball bat coming out an apartment window around 9:58 a.m., then Sulaiman jumping out a window and landing in a large trash bin.
He then picked up the bat, swung it around, walked in circles, then tossed the bat into another trash bin before walking to Main Street, where he was arrested, police said.
Sulaiman's hearing was delayed on Thursday and he was surrounded by bailiffs while in court.
Nowak said that, according to the marshals, Sulaiman slapped one of the marshals in the face while in lockup and spit on another marshal.
Sulaiman's next court date is set for Oct. 10. It will be held in Part A, which is a court for more severe crimes.
He has been placed on suicide watch.
