A mother of six was arrested Friday after two toddlers were found chained and tied in the backyard of a Texas home late Thursday, authorities said.
Deputies went to the home Thursday night after a neighbor reported hearing a crying child and found the toddlers tied up in the backyard with no adults around. One was chained to the ground and another tied to a door with a dog leash, the Bexar County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
"To describe this as disturbing is an understatement," sheriff's office spokesman James Keith told NBC affiliate WOIA. "This is a sick, disturbing, horrific crime."
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
The mother, Porucha Phillips, was taken into custody as she and another person came home Friday morning, the sheriff's office said.
The toddlers, 2 and 3 years old, were transported to a local hospital and the six other children are in the care of Texas Child Protective Services, according to the agency.