Father, child hurt in home invasion
‘Sicko’ assailants hold boy underwater in search for cash
Authorities in Fort Bend County were searching Tuesday for three men who targeted a family, broke into their home, pistol-whipped the father and placed a 7-year-old boy in a bathtub filled with hot water to get information about where money was in the home.
“It’s just horrible to think that we have three individuals out there who are trying to make a little extra money and they’re going to do that to a young man like that,” Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls said during a news conference Tuesday. “A child? How dare you.”
A $25,000 Crime Stoppers reward is being offered for information about those involved in the home invasion, authorities said.
They did not specify Tuesday why they believed the family was targeted, but Detective Justin White said the father is a
small business owner and the assailants apparently thought the family had a large amount of money at the home. They also seemed to be familiar with the residence.
The sheriff ’s office received a call about the break-in around 3 a.m. Monday. Three masked men invaded the home in the 17300 block of Kenton Crossing Lane while a getaway driver waited outside.
Family members were awakened by screaming and a loud noise, when the three apparently forced their way into the home. The assailants held the family of four, including a 5year-old and the 7-year-old, captive for about 40 minutes while the three men looked for money. The men began to beat and pistol-whip the father, who suffered a gash on his head, as they sought information on any cash.
When the father told the assailants there wasn’t money in the house, they put the 7-yearold boy in hot water in a bathtub to get the child to say where money was.
The sheriff’s office released images from video surveillance, which captured the terrifying moments inside the home.
Nehls said the boy’s screams became muffled because he was being held underwater.
“You can hear chilling screams from all the different family members inside that house,” Nehls said. “You can hear that boy screaming, and then you can hear them when they’re filling up that bathtub with water.”
The boy suffered fluid in his lungs but was not burned as earlier reports said, according to Nehls.
One of the assailants was wearing a vintage black Air Jordan sweatshirt, with the words “Jordan” spelled out in white on the sleeves.
Another was seen wearing red sneakers that are believed to be Jordan basketball shoes.
The father and son were treated for injuries and have been released from the hospital.
“We will stop at nothing to apprehend these sickos,” Nehls said.