Inset: Zeinab Abdi (Louisville Metro Detention Center). Background: The home where Abdi allegedly tried to kill her 6-year-old daughter (WLKY).
A 40-year-old woman from Kentucky has been accused of attempting to fatally harm her 6-year-old daughter by attacking her with a hammer, repeatedly hitting the child in the head with the tool while the victim’s sibling was present.
Zeinab Abdi was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with one count of attempted murder with domestic violence, authorities announced.
As per a complaint filed after the arrest and obtained by Law&Crime, officers from the 2nd Division of the Louisville Metro Police Department were called to a residence on Wilson Avenue in the 2900 block around 12:49 p.m. following reports of a child being assaulted with a hammer by her own mother.
Upon reaching the location, emergency responders found a 6-year-old girl lying injured in the house, with severe head injuries due to the violent attack. The authorities reported that she had suffered from “numerous skull fractures and bleeding in the brain.”
Emergency medical personnel transported the victim — who has not been identified by authorities — to Norton Children’s Hospital for treatment where she was admitted in critical condition. The 6-year-old remained in critical condition as of Friday morning, police said in a news release.
Due to the nature of the child’s injuries, the department’s homicide unit responded to the scene and took over the investigation. Abdi was subsequently taken into custody in connection with the alleged attack on her daughter.
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“During a post-Miranda statement, the listed suspect [Abdi] stated she frequently becomes extremely angry and has difficulty controlling herself,” police wrote in the complaint. “She stated today she became overly angry and struck the victim in the head with a hammer an unknown amount of times.”
Abdi’s son, whose name and age were not provided, provided a similar account of the harrowing attack on his sister.
“During an interview with the listed suspect’s son, he stated while restraining her after the assault, she stated to him ‘let me finish her’ while attempting to return to the victim,” the document states.
Abdi is currently being held in the Louisville Metro Detention Center. Bond information was not immediately available. She was scheduled to appear in court for her arraignment Friday morning.
Several neighbors who spoke to Louisville CBS affiliate WLKY said they were shocked about the allegations.
“I think it’s just terrible,” neighbor Donald Edison told the station. “I don’t know what type of pressure the child’s mother is under for her to do something like that.”
Brittany Lindell, who also lives in the area, told WLKY that news of the attack gave her “cold chills,” calling it “disgusting.”
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