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New York City police believe a mother drowned her three children on Coney Island Beach in Brooklyn early Monday (September 12) morning, according to the Associated Press.
A 7-year-old boy, a 3-year-old girl and a 3-month-old boy were all pronounced dead at a nearby hospital after being transported from the beach, a spokesperson for the New York Police Department confirmed to the AP.
The children's 30-year-old mother was located by police and taken into custody. Charges against the mother were pending as of Monday morning.
The department said it received a 911 call from a concerned family member at around 1:40 a.m.
"The caller indicated that she was concerned her family member may have harmed her three small children," said NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey via CBS News.
Police went to the woman's Neptune Avenue apartment but didn't get a replay at the door. Officers then encountered the father of one of the children inside the building who also expressed concern about her and said he believed she and the children were on the Coney Island Boardwalk at the time.
NYPD officers searched the area for 90 minutes before receiving another 911 call from about two miles away.
The woman, believed to be the mother of the children, was found soaking wet and barefoot, according to Corey, who added that no children were with her when she was located by police.
"At about 4:42 this morning, the officers discovered three children, a 7-year-old male, a 4-year-old female, and another female who's approximately three and half months old, on the shoreline here at the water's edge on West 35th Street in Coney Island," Corey said via CBS News.
Officers immediately performed CPR on the children before they were transported to the hospital.
Corey said there was no evidence of abuse or neglect prior to the children's deaths.