Man arrested at New Mexico compound was allegedly training kids for school shootings
On his remote compound in New Mexico, Siraj Wahhaj was training children how to commit school shootings, teaching at least one how to use an assault rifle to carry out an attack, prosecutors said in court documents filed Wednesday.
Wahhaj was arrested on Friday after authorities looking for his missing son found Wahhaj, four adults, and 11 children living in squalid conditions in Taos County. His 4-year-old son has several medical conditions, and was reported missing by his mother in Georgia nine months ago. The Associated Press reports that when officers arrived, Wahhaj was engaged in weapons training, and while searching the compound, they found four pistols, a military-style rifle, and a large amount of ammunition. Prosecutors said the kids were purposely brought to New Mexico for this training, in anticipation of carrying out future attacks.
Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe said the children looked "like third-world country refugees not only with no food or fresh water, but with no shoes, personal hygiene, and basically dirty rags for clothing." There were three women at the compound who were later arrested, and they're believed to be the mothers of at least some of the children. Wahhaj, another man identified as Lucas Morten, and the women face felony charges of child abuse. Officers did not find the missing child on Friday, but they did discover the remains of a young boy on the property Monday that they are working to identify.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Do youth curfews work?
Today's big question Banning unaccompanied children from towns and cities is popular with some voters but is contentious politically
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Sleaze baack!'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 20 - 26 April
Puzzles and Quizzes Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By Rebecca Messina, The Week UK Published
-
Trump criminal trial starts with rulings, reminder
Speed Read The first day of his historic trial over hush money payments was mostly focused on jury selection
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Parents of school shooter sentenced to 10-15 years
Speed Read Jennifer and James Crumbley are the first parents to be convicted in a US mass shooting
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Unlicensed dealers and black market guns
Speed Read 68,000 illegally trafficked guns were sold in a five year period, said ATF
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraud
Speed Read Former "crypto king" Sam Bankman-Fried will report to federal prison
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Feds raid Diddy homes in alleged sex trafficking case
Speed Read Homeland Security raided the properties of hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Goon Squad' cops sentenced for torturing 2 Black men
Speed Read The former Mississippi law enforcement officers pleaded guilty last year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Michigan shooter's dad guilty of manslaughter
speed read James Crumbley failed to prevent his son from killing four students at Oxford High School in 2021
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Shooting at Chiefs victory rally kills 1, injures 21
Speed Read Gunfire broke out at the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade in Missouri
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published