Sept. 21 (UPI) — Six people, including three infants, were hospitalized Friday after a stabbing attack at a New York City child care facility, police said.
Officials said they found nine babies at the home in Queens when they arrived.
A 3-day-old girl and a 1 month-old girl were stabbed in the stomach, officials said. Another newborn had lacerations on her face. All were hospitalized in critical condition.
A female employee was stabbed in the leg and arm, and the father of one of the babies at the center was cut in the leg and wrist.
Police said a woman believed to be the attacker was found unconscious with a slashed wrist. Investigators, who found a butcher knife and meat cleaver at the scene, say hers was a self-inflicted wound.
“She was one of the workers in the place, and I think she was mentally ill,” Queens State Assemblyman Ron Kim said. “It was early in the morning and she kind of lost it. That’s all we know.”
Investigators are using Chinese translators to interview witnesses and neighbors, WCBS-TV reported. Police are unclear why so many newborns and some parents were present.
WCBS-TV reported the maternity center was a location where foreigners could deliver babies and make the children U.S. citizens.
A spokeswoman for the New York State Office of Children and Family Services said the center is not a state-licensed or regulated childcare program. She added approved programs are prohibited from caring for infants younger than 6 weeks.
