Four children are among the dead in a stabbing attack that took place in Brooklyn Saturday night, New York officials say. Police say five people died from the attack at an apartment in the Sunset Park neighborhood. Emergency responders were called to the residence around 11 p.m.
"All five of the dead had stab wounds to their upper bodies, police said," according to CNN. "Police identified the victims as Qiao Zhen Li, 37; Linda Zhuo, 9; Amy Zhuo, 7; Kevin Zhuo, 5; and William Zhuo, 1."
Three of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene, The Associated Press reports; the woman and a boy were taken to hospitals but did not survive. The news agency says that Qiao Zhen Li was the children's mother.
"A man identified by police as a person of interest has been taken into custody, but no charges had been filed as of Sunday morning," the AP says.
According to the New York Daily News, the man was reportedly found in the apartment when emergency personnel arrived.
The newspaper reports that after the children's father came home to the apartment, police informed him of the attack through an interpreter.
"The father was freaking out," neighbor May Chan tells the Daily News. "He just came home from work and saw the police and they told him. He was hysterical."
Chan says the children were a common sight around the building.
"I always see (the kids) running around here," she says. "They run around by my garage playing. They run up and down screaming. They're little kids ... that's so heartbreaking. Innocent kids, my God."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.