Uncle charged in suspected child abuse case involving 3-year-old

SALISBURY, N.C. (WBTV) - The uncle of a child who is in critical condition has now been charged with inflicting the injuries that put that child in the hospital.

Police in Salisbury arrested Lonnie Ray Carpenter, Jr., 35, on one count of felony child abuse. Bond was set at $150,000.

Police say Carpenter, who is the child’s uncle, took the child to Novant Health Rowan Medical Center on May 8. The child was unresponsive, had several broken ribs and facial swelling, according to investigators.

The child was flown from Salisbury to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and is now in critical condition.

After going to the hospital, police served a search warrant at a house on North Green Street in Salisbury. They say that’s where the child had been prior to being taken to the hospital.

The Department of Social Services is now involved in the case, according to police.