4 children stabbed in Brooklyn home; cleaver-wielding suspect shot by police
NYC stabbing spree leaves 4 children injured
Four young girls were stabbed with a meat cleaver in Brooklyn, police said. The NYPD shot and wounded the suspect, who is said to be related to the victims. FOX 5 NY's Haley Fixler has the details.
BROOKLYN - The NYPD shot and wounded a man after they said four girls, ranging in ages from 8 to 16, were stabbed on Sunday inside a home in Brooklyn. The suspect is said to be related to the victims.
Multiple children stabbed inside home
What we know:
Officers responded to a report of a stabbing inside a Bensonhurst home on 84th St. around 10:15 a.m. in what NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch called a "horrific scene."
Four out of the five children present at the home during the attack were injured, while one child was unharmed. According to police, an 11-year-old girl managed to call 911 while another uninjured child ran to a neighbor’s house for help.
The 11-year-old told police she and her siblings had been stabbed by her uncle, but she did not know her address, prompting the call center to use location technology to find them at the home on 84th St. When officers arrived, an uninjured child let them into the building and directed them to the scene of the stabbing.
Police said they heard screams upon entering and found blood on the walls and floor. Officers had to break down a door to gain entry, where they encountered the suspect holding a bloodied meat cleaver.
Photo credit: NYPD.
Police ordered the man to drop the weapon several times, but he refused and charged at them, police said. Two officers fired their weapons, striking the suspect, who was in critical condition, but is now stable.
Two knives were recovered from the scene: a "large" cleaver that the man was holding and another bloodied knife found in a separate room.
Inside the apartment, police found four female victims – ages 16, 13, 11 and 8 – suffering from multiple slash and stab wounds. They were rushed to Maimonides Medical Center, where all are expected to be OK.
Tisch visited the children at the hospital and thanked them, saying: "I'm happy to report that they are going to be fine."
The children’s mother is believed to have been out of the house during the incident.
Who is the suspect?
Police identified the suspect as 49-year-old Longqian Chen.
According to family members, he does have a history of mental illness.
Police said there was no history of domestic violence at the residence prior to the incident.
What they're saying:
"Once they entered, they encountered a man standing near the entrance holding a large meat cleaver, covered in blood, and they could see blood on the floor and the walls of the home," Tisch said. "The officers ordered the man to drop the weapon several times. He refused and advanced towards them. Two officers discharged their firearms, firing seven total rounds between them and striking the subject, ending the threat."
Meanwhile, neighbors tell FOX 5 NY they are in complete shock.
"I came out, I saw like, there was like one kid was like bloody and then the other was another bloody person was going into the ambulance," one neighbor said.
What we don't know:
The suspect's exact relationship to the children is still under investigation. However, police believe he is a relative. They have not yet announced what charges he will be facing.
It's unclear what exactly led to the attack.