A 36-year-old mother who is in the military and her two toddlers, ages 2 and 3, were found dead in a home in New York City’s Staten Island borough Saturday morning, police said.
“EMS [Emergency Medical Services] responded and pronounced all three individuals deceased at the scene,” New York Police Department Assistant Chief Kenneth Corey, commander of patrol officers in Staten Island, told reporters at a press conference.
About three hours before the discovery of the dead mother and children, the children’s father, who is also a 36-year-old active member of the military, was found walking on the city’s Verrazzano Bridge.
Authorities took him to a hospital for evaluation, said New York Police Department Assistant Chief Kenneth Corey, commander of patrol officers in Staten Island.
The cause of death for the mother and children will be determined by the city’s medical examiner, but Corey said, “We are treating this as a homicide investigation.”
The children were described by NBC New York as boys.
“Upon arrival, officers discovered a smoke-filled residence,” Corey said. “FDNY personnel responded and extinguished a small fire.”
The victims, whose identities were not revealed, were found in one room of the home in Staten Island’s South Beach neighborhood, Corey said.
Corey said police had responded once previously to the address based on a report of a “domestic incident,” he said.
“We are in the early stages of an investigation that is ongoing at this time,” the assistant chief said.