After being found unconscious on a Coney Island beach on Monday morning, a 7-year-old boy and two younger sisters have died and police are questioning their mother for what could be an attempted drowning of the children.
About 1:40 a.m. on Monday, officers answered a call from a family member concerned that someone may have harmed the three small children, WABC-TV reported.
“The caller indicated that she was concerned that her family member may have harmed her three small children,” NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey said, according to CBS News.
When police arrived at the home, a man who identified himself as the father of one of the children told the officers that he thought the children were with their mother on the boardwalk.
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The police began to search the boardwalk and the surrounding area for the mother and her children and then received another phone call from family members who were with the mother on the boardwalk.
The mother, 30, was “soaking wet” and would not speak with the police, WABC-TV reported.
One police source also said she was drunk and emotionally disturbed, the New York Daily News reported.
Officers continued to search the area and eventually found the children about 4:40 a.m.
“The officers immediately initiated life-saving measures, including CPR,” Corey said, according to the Daily News.
First responders carried the boy and the girls, one 3 months old, the other 4 years old, off the beach and they were taken to Coney Island Hospital, the New York Post reported.
The children were pronounced dead at 5:38 a.m., the Post reported.
The mother, who appeared “despondent” was taken into custody for further investigation.
But no charges were immediately filed, the Post reported.
There is no indication or history of abuse or neglect the police said, WABC-TV reported.
As the police continue to investigate, they are asking anyone who may have seen the mother and children on Sunday night or early Monday morning to come forward.
Officers are also looking into whether the children were in the water before they were found on shore, WNBC reported.
“We don’t know exactly what happened here yet,” Corey said, according to the Daily News.
But Corey added that this was a “very active investigation.”
