Officers went to the home on Mahogany Drive on Wednesday, Oct. 21, after a neighbor called 911. The neighbor reportedly described burning items and what they believed were “black magic rituals,” and said the mother appeared bruised.

Police heard screaming and saw objects being thrown inside, the affidavit said. Officers reported finding live and spent .22-caliber rounds, broken items and drops of blood on the front porch. Inside, they described the home as severely damaged, with knives, torch-style lighters and other potentially dangerous items accessible. Four children, ages 14, 11, 5 and 3, were at the home.

According to the affidavit, the adults first told officers they were cleaning, then said someone had broken in and caused the damage. The document alleges the father, identified in court records as 35-year-old Gabriel Antonio Santos-Funes, threw garlic at an officer and moved toward a large butcher knife. The mother, 33-year-old Maria Valladares, is accused of grabbing an officer by the neck and trying to bite an officer’s leg as police attempted to handcuff Santos-Funes. A child told police she was scared to be at the home, the affidavit said.

Both parents face several misdemeanor child-abuse counts, as well as charges including resisting an officer and assaulting a government employee. They were taken to the Mecklenburg County jail. The allegations have not been adjudicated in court.