CBS News has gone inside the remote New Mexico compound where officials say 11 children were found living in squalor. The dusty property is littered with shell casings, trash, and toys. Authorities raided the compound last week and arrested five adults on child abuse charges.
Prosecutors say the children, ranging in age from one to 15, were malnourished, living without electricity or plumbing, reports CBS News’ Jericka Duncan. Authorities say they also found the body of a child and the estranged wife of the man accused of leading this compound is speaking out.
Hakima Ramzi told Atlanta TV station WSB she believes the remains of a young boy found at at the compound may be her toddler, Abdul Ghani Wahhaj. She says about eight months ago her husband Siraj Ibn Wahhaj kidnapped the then 3-year-old child, who suffers from severe health problems.
Investigators raided the New Mexico compound last week, after receiving a tip people inside were starving. They found a body of an unidentified young boy.
Prosecutors say Wahhaj had “loaded firearms” and that one of the children told their foster parent he was training them to carry out future school shootings. Four other adults were also arrested on child abuse charges.
CBS News got a closer look at the remote compound Thursday where we found books about assault rifles and a box of ammunition. The property is surrounded by trash, tires and glass shards. We also found bicycles and toys and inside a mobile home, dirty beds and a sink piled with dishes.
Wahhaj’s father, a well-known imam at a mosque in New York City, also believes the body found on the property is his grandson, Abdul.
“As you can imagine, right now I’m feeling a lot of emotions,” Siraj Wahhaj said. “I think my son can be a little bit, maybe a little bit extreme. When I say extreme, not radical, killing people, stuff like that. God forbid. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Wahhaj’s public defender said the child abuse charges against him are “thin.” All five suspects are being held without bail. Abdul’s 4th birthday was Monday, the same day authorities found the remains on the compound. It could be weeks before police positively identify the body.
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