Eight dead children and a woman suffering from stab wounds were found
inside a home in a northern Australian city on Friday, police said.
Queensland state police said they were called to the home in the
Cairns suburb of Manoora on Friday morning after receiving a report of a
woman with serious injuries.
When police got to the house, they found the bodies of the children inside. The victims range in age from 18 months to 15 years.
A 34-year-old woman found inside the home was suffering from stab
wounds to the chest, a Queensland Ambulance Service spokesman said.
The woman was receiving treatment for her wounds and was in stable
condition at a hospital, Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar said. He said
he had no further information, including how the children were killed.
“As it stands at the moment, there’s no need for the public to be
concerned about this other than the fact that it’s a tragic, tragic
event,” Asnicar said. “The situation is well controlled.”
Detectives were speaking with neighbors and police had not determined
the relationship between all of the children and the hospitalized
woman.
But Lisa Thaiday, who said she was the woman’s cousin, said the
children were all siblings and that the woman was their mother. Thaiday
said another sibling, a 20-year-old man, came home and found his
brothers and sisters dead inside the house.
“I’m going to see him now, he needs comforting,” Thaiday said. “We’re
a big family … I just can’t believe it. We just found out (about) those
poor babies.”
The street has been cordoned off and a crime scene will remain in place for at least the next day, Asnicar said.
Dozens of police have swarmed the home.
“These events are extremely distressing for everyone of course and
police officers aren’t immune from that – we’re human beings as well,”
Ascinar said.
The tragedy comes as Australia is still reeling from the shock of a
deadly siege in a Sydney cafe earlier this week. On Monday, a gunman
stormed into a cafe in the heart of the city and took 18 people inside
hostage.
Two hostages were killed along with the gunman after police stormed into the cafe 16 hours later in a bid to end the siege.
Source : AP
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