Teh One Who Knocks
07-03-2012, 10:57 AM
BY REBECCA D. O’BRIEN AND MARLENE NAANES - The Record
BERGENFIELD — A borough man who allegedly poured a pot of boiling water on his 11-year-old nephew Saturday, leaving the boy with second-degree burns over a third of his body, is believed to suffer from mental health problems, authorities said Monday.
Mohammad Saffan Rizvie, 29, was not on his medication, family told police after the incident, authorities said. As he was apprehended, Rizvie told police he was compelled to “torture and kill” the boy, authorities said.
The 11-year-old was in stable condition at the St. Barnabas Medical Center burn unit Monday afternoon, Bergenfield Police Capt. Michael Carr said.
“There’s a good prognosis,” Carr said. “They expect him to recover.”
Rizvie was arrested on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child, police said. He is being held at Bergen Regional Medical Center on $750,000 bail.
The boy was home Saturday afternoon with his father and Rizvie while his mother — Rizvie’s sister — and grandmother went to a nearby store, police said. Carr said the boy was lying on the sofa when Rizvie went to the kitchen, boiled a pot of water, and poured its contents on his nephew.
When the women returned, the boy’s father had secured Rizvie in a chair, police said. The family drove the boy to Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, police said. Emergency room staffers called police at 5:46 p.m.
Officers arrived at the Westside Avenue home shortly thereafter to find Rizvie and the boy’s grandmother sitting on the front stairs, Carr said.
“He was in a state of psychosis,” Carr said of Rizvie. “He was just staring out into space. He said, ‘I had to torture him, I had to kill him.’”
Family members told police that Rizvie was prescribed medications, Carr said, but said he had not been taking them. Rizvie has a Sri Lankan passport, Carr said.
Carr said the family was “very cooperative, but in an extreme state of shock.”
Rizvie, who is unemployed, had no known prior history of violence, and lived with the family with no incident, Carr said.
“Despite Mohammad’s history and mental health, he never showed any type of aggression,” Carr said. “This 11-year-old was his favorite nephew. He loved this boy.”
Noor Rizvie, the boy’s mother, declined to discuss the incident when approached Monday afternoon as she was leaving the home with a family member.
“He is doing better, thank God,” she said of her son.
BERGENFIELD — A borough man who allegedly poured a pot of boiling water on his 11-year-old nephew Saturday, leaving the boy with second-degree burns over a third of his body, is believed to suffer from mental health problems, authorities said Monday.
Mohammad Saffan Rizvie, 29, was not on his medication, family told police after the incident, authorities said. As he was apprehended, Rizvie told police he was compelled to “torture and kill” the boy, authorities said.
The 11-year-old was in stable condition at the St. Barnabas Medical Center burn unit Monday afternoon, Bergenfield Police Capt. Michael Carr said.
“There’s a good prognosis,” Carr said. “They expect him to recover.”
Rizvie was arrested on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a child, police said. He is being held at Bergen Regional Medical Center on $750,000 bail.
The boy was home Saturday afternoon with his father and Rizvie while his mother — Rizvie’s sister — and grandmother went to a nearby store, police said. Carr said the boy was lying on the sofa when Rizvie went to the kitchen, boiled a pot of water, and poured its contents on his nephew.
When the women returned, the boy’s father had secured Rizvie in a chair, police said. The family drove the boy to Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, police said. Emergency room staffers called police at 5:46 p.m.
Officers arrived at the Westside Avenue home shortly thereafter to find Rizvie and the boy’s grandmother sitting on the front stairs, Carr said.
“He was in a state of psychosis,” Carr said of Rizvie. “He was just staring out into space. He said, ‘I had to torture him, I had to kill him.’”
Family members told police that Rizvie was prescribed medications, Carr said, but said he had not been taking them. Rizvie has a Sri Lankan passport, Carr said.
Carr said the family was “very cooperative, but in an extreme state of shock.”
Rizvie, who is unemployed, had no known prior history of violence, and lived with the family with no incident, Carr said.
“Despite Mohammad’s history and mental health, he never showed any type of aggression,” Carr said. “This 11-year-old was his favorite nephew. He loved this boy.”
Noor Rizvie, the boy’s mother, declined to discuss the incident when approached Monday afternoon as she was leaving the home with a family member.
“He is doing better, thank God,” she said of her son.