LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A 6-year-old girl remains in critical condition after police said her mother hit her in the head with a hammer Thursday afternoon.
Louisville Metro Police responded to Wilson Avenue around 12:45 p.m. on a report of a 6-year-old girl being hit in the head with a hammer by her mother, 40-year-old Zeinab Abdi, department spokesperson John Bradley said.
Abdi was arraigned on attempted murder and domestic violence charges in court Friday morning, where she pleaded not guilty. She was appointed a public defender and her bond was set by the judge.
"A very vulnerable victim who was presented to the hospital with multiple skull fractures and brain bleeds, it's the county's motion to set the bond at $500,000," the judge said.
Bradley said the girl was found unconscious with trauma to her head and taken to Norton Children's Hospital where she was last reported in critical condition. Due to the severity of the child's injuries, LMPD's Homicide Unit is investigating the case.
Abdi was arrested at the scene. Friday, neighbors said they watched in disbelief as first responders rushed to the home Thursday afternoon.
"My little cousin told me to look behind me, and there's like six, seven police cars," neighbor Janis Lindsay said. "Two of those little ambulance vans, then the crime lab."
According to her arrest report, Abdi said she "frequently becomes extremely angry and has difficulty controlling herself."
Police said she admitted to investigators she couldn't control her anger, and struck the girl "in the head with a hammer for an unknown amount of times."
Her son told police while he was restraining his mother, she told him "let me finish her" while trying to go back to the girl, according to court documents.
"Yeah, she told him let her finish 'em, like, that's sick. That's real sick," Lindsay said. "You don't do kids like that. Give them a whipping and put them in timeout, but to beat them with a hammer, that's overboard. That's you wanted to kill that baby."
The judge ordered Abdi not to have contact with any minor. She is scheduled to be back in court June 30.
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