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A family from Oxnard, Calif. are suing the city and the police department after officers raided the wrong home, causing serious injuries to their youngest child after they threw a smoke bomb into his bedroom.

According to Court House News Jose and Paulina Salinas, the parents of a 2-year-old boy who was badly injured during a police “no knock raid,” are suing  for damages done not only to their young toddler but, to their house, other family members, and well-being altogether.

In the lawsuit, the Salinas claim that they were sleeping in their home on April 16 and were woken up in the middle of the night by the cops’ footsteps and motor vehicles outside their house:

 Police broke the front windows of the home and set off three smoke bombs. Police then crashed through the front door with guns drawn, yelling, “Get down and put your hands to your head!” With laser guns pointed at them, Paulina and Jose Salinas were handcuffed and put to their knees. Their 10-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son were shoved into a corner. As police approached one of the bedrooms, Paulina Salinas and her two older children told officers there was a 2-year-old in the room. Police ignored them, told them to cover their ears, and threw a smoke bomb into the room as 2-year-old Justin Salinas stood near the door. When the smoke bomb detonated, shrapnel from the blast hit Justin in the foot, causing first-degree burns and glass cuts. The family was detained for four hours although “there was no resemblance of any claimant to any of the previous tenants at the location,” according to the complaint.

Though the police are not stating whether or not the Salinas were wrongly targeted, further arrests were made. Further investigation by the Court House News Services shows one of the suspects once lived in the apartment the Salinas’ moved into four months prior to the raid.

The Salinas family were left devastated by the invasion. Ron Bamieh, the family’s attorney states:

“The incident left each member of the Salinas family physically and emotionally shaken, traumatized and in constant fear for their safety.They now feel that their home is a dangerous place to live and are scared to death and rattled by any noise they hear at night.”

Justin is “afraid of the dark and of people in general,” while the other two children “suffer recurring nightmares, and are terrified of sleeping alone,” the lawsuit states.

The incident is very similar to another of the same nature, in which  a SWAT team threw a a flash-bang grenade into a playpen, severely injuring a sleeping 1-year-old.

SOURCE: Court House News | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty