According to reports, Missouri law enforcement officials spotted seven children between the ages of 2 and 13 and several adults in the back of a U-Haul box truck during a traffic stop on the interstate. Two people were arrested.
Local NBC station KY3 in Springfield, Missouri, reported that 31-year-old Shaquem Bristol and 22-year-old Moussa Omar were charged with seven counts of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
According to court documents, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper stopped a U-Haul box truck on Interstate 44 Sunday around 4:30 p.m., according to a department report.
Bristol allegedly told police that he and Omar rented a U-Haul box truck in Buffalo, New York, and drove to Glendale, Arizona, to pick up a woman whose mother had kicked her out of the house.
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Shaikim Bristol and Moussa Omar were allegedly driving a U-Haul box truck from Arizona to New York with seven children in the back. (Webster County Sheriff's Office)
When Bristol and Omar were pulled over, Bristol told the officer that he was returning to New York from Arizona.
There were two women in the passenger seat, whom Bristol said were his sister and his fiance.
The women told police a different story. “I traveled to Arizona to buy things and visit family,” he said.
In court documents, the police officer noted that the stories told by the suspects about the trip were contradictory, leading the officer to believe they were involved in criminal activity.
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Two men were arrested in Missouri after police reportedly found seven children in the back of a U-Haul box truck. (St. Petersburg)
When officers asked to search the U-Haul, Bristol reportedly gave permission and said there was a bed, clothing, and five adults and seven children in the back.
Officers called for backup and arrested the woman and Bristol.
To prevent anyone from getting stuck in traffic on the interstate, police transported the U-Haul to the Webster County Jail for further investigation.
During the investigation, officers opened the back of the truck and noticed the air was warm and there was no power or air conditioning. Officers also said there were containers of clothing and food in the back, and police claimed that most of the children removed from the U-Haul had dirty diapers that had not been changed in hours.
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Police have arrested two men who were driving a box truck from Arizona to New York with seven children in the back. (St. Petersburg)
The passengers in the back seats were also sweating due to the heat.
When questioned by officers, Bristol said he did not know why he took his children on the trip, knowing it would be hot.
“That's why we tried to stop him so many times,” Bristol told police.
He and Omar explained that they tried to stop every hour and a half to two hours during the trip to keep the back seat passengers from getting too hot. Police said the two also shared driving responsibilities.
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The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Department of Family Services also responded to the scene.
Bristol and Omar were booked into the Webster County Jail and held without bail.
