The New Orleans Police Department said in a statement that the tragic incident occurred as a result of an apparent domestic dispute
Three children in Louisiana have died after a house fire allegedly started by their father, New Orleans police said.
The New Orleans Police Department explained in a press release that the tragic incident reportedly occurred as a result of an apparent domestic dispute between the children’s parents.
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NOPD and the New Orleans Fire Department responded to the home shortly after midnight Wednesday after the children’s mother called 911. She reported that their father, Joseph Washington, Sr., 29, was threatening to set the house on fire.
During the call for help, the mother told dispatchers, “He’s screaming on the phone. I hear children screaming. You’ll just have to break through the door. Don’t let anything happen, please,” according to WVUE.
While the mother was not home when the incident occurred, NOFD found the two children — a 5-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy — upon entering the home. According to a statement from the department, one “was found in the front room just a few feet from the front door, and the other was found not far away, between the kitchen and the front room.”
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Both children were transported by New Orleans EMS to a nearby hospital, where they succumbed to their injuries about an hour later. As firefighters continued to work to prevent the fire from spreading to neighboring areas and continued to search the house, a third child – a three-year-old boy – was found dead “near the center of the house”. According to the NOPD, their official cause of death will be determined by the coroner.
The NOFD explained in its report that “17 NOFD apparatus and support vehicles, carrying forty-six fire personnel, were used to bring this incident under control at 12:40 a.m.”
After the NOPD’s Child Abuse Unit began an investigation, Washington Sr. was identified as the prime suspect and was arrested at the I-610 East exit. The NOPD reported that Washington Sr. tried to escape officers by jumping off an overpass.
After being captured, he was taken to a local hospital for treatment of potential injuries. Washington, Sr. is charged with three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of second-degree cruelty to a minor and one count of aggravated arson.
During a press conference, NOPD Interim Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick described the situation as “a tragic and senseless and horrific death of three young children.”
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We are collectively outraged, she said. “We are disappointed. We are deeply saddened. So as a collective voice, we share the outrage of this community.”
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Source: HIS Education