Two 9-year-old girls and their father were discovered dead on Oct. 7 in Placentia, California, in what police are calling a murder-suicide.
Police said they responded to reports of “unknown trouble with two children stabbed” in the 400 block of Swanson Avenue shortly after 12:38 a.m.
“When officers arrived, they located a man lying on grass on a front yard of the 400 block of Swanson. The officers located two children bleeding inside a residence,” Placentia Police Lt. Adam Gloe said in a statement.
The suspect was discovered across the street from the home with apparently self-inflicted stab wounds, according to police.
“The suspect was reported to be the father of the children,” Gloe said.
Placentia Fire and Life Safety Department paramedics arrived to attempt lifesaving measures on the injured, but the efforts were unsuccessful.
“The two children were declared deceased inside the residence,” Gloe stated. “And the man who is possibly the father was declared deceased across the street.”
Police told The Epoch Times that the case remains under investigation.
“Our crime scene people and our detectives are still out at the scene right now,” Placentia Police Lt. Brian Perry told The Epoch Times.
“I just asked them when they should be clearing, so they can actually give us an update. And then we'll probably hold some type of press release this afternoon,” Perry said.
Police added that two other people inside the residence at the time of the incident were unharmed. Fox 11 identified the two as the children’s mother and grandmother, who were asleep in the home when the attack occurred.
Gloe said there were no outstanding suspects at this time. “However, it is very early in the investigation,” he said.
Perry told The Epoch Times that the case remains under investigation.
“My heart goes out to the family. This is just a tragic situation for this whole community,” Placentia Police Sgt. Bryce Angel told reporters at the scene.
“The children’s mother was awakened to this violence, and tried to intervene. However, the male had already completed the act, and ran out of the house. And it looks [like] he bled out, across the street,” he told Fox11.
Angel said crisis counselors were made available to relatives of the victims.
“It is extremely tragic for the family,'‘ Angel said. “It’s just one of those things that we hate to see happen. We’re trying to get to the bottom of this, why it happened.’’
Anyone with information regarding the case is encouraged to contact Placentia Police at (714) 993-8164.
