7-Year-Old Tortured During Home Invasion In Texas, Photos Of Suspects Released

A 7-year-old boy was tortured by armed home invaders who broke into his home in Texas at 3 a.m. local time (4 a.m. EDT) on Monday. The invaders reportedly dunked the child in a bathtub of scalding hot water to force him to reveal the whereabouts of valuables in the property.

The invaders then hit his dad over the head before continuing to torture the boy during the nearly 40 minutes the family was taken hostage. The masked invaders left with jewelry, phones and money.

"This is the worst kind of crime against a family,” said Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls.

On Tuesday, photos of the three accused were released and Nehls said the images were taken from surveillance video that was recorded inside the house.

Investigators also revealed the audio and video helped them put the timeline of the attack together that occurred at the house on Kenton Crossing Lane near F.M. Road 1464. They added the invasion began when the three accused broke down the door. In the video, the mother is seen screaming before the trio turns their attentions toward the father.

The three demand the father to revel where the money was kept and then hit him with the pistol after he yells there was no cash in the house. The video also captured the boy’s chilling screams as he is dunked into the bathtub.

Officials said the family went to a clinic nearby to get help as their phones were stolen.

One of the accused was wearing a black sweatshirt that had the word “Jordan” written in black letters on white stripes on the sleeves, the investigators said, ABC news reported.

The second accused was wearing a white Adidas hooded sweatshirt with a bandana around his face, and the third man was wearing black pants with white stripes and red Nike tennis shoes.

Fort Bend County Public Information Officer Caitilin Espinosa said about the audio of the invaders filling a bathtub with hot water and dunking the boy repeatedly in it to get him to reveal the valuables' whereabouts: “It's horrific to listen to.”

“Just horrible to think that we have three individuals out there that are trying to make a little extra money, and they’re gonna do that to a young man like that? A child? How dare you,” Nehls said in a press conference, local news website Hot Prime News reported. “Three crooks forcing their way into a home in the middle of the night is appalling. To make matters worse, they accosted a 7-year-old child. They're cowards, to say the least.”

“We will stop at nothing to apprehend these sickos,” Nehls said.

The officials are seeking public’s help to find the accused by offering $25,000 reward for information that leads to arrests in the case.

Though the identity of the family has not been revealed, the house owner was identified as Ashraf Ghriri, Daily Mail reported.