Several children found stabbed to death in Queensland home
Sydney Sun Saturday 20th December, 2014
• Besides dead bodies of kids, investigating authorities also found a woman with serious stab wounds
• Prime Minister Tony Abbott calls it "heartbreaking" news
• Police had no suspects as of Friday evening
SYDNEY, Australia - Police in Queensland, Australia, Friday discovered dead bodies of several kids, who had apparently been killed by stabbing in their Manoora house, authorities said about the incident that Prime Minister Tony Abbott described as "heartbreaking".
The Queensland state police said that they had found bodies of eight kids and also a 34-year-old woman with serious stab wounds at the house in Cairns, a suburb in Manoora, and a northern coastal city.
The woman, who has not been charged, is stable and was responding to her treatment, Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar told reporters at the scene.
He declined to comment on the relationship between the woman and the children, though she is believed to be the mother of the slain kids.
Asnicar warned that the confirmed number of deaths could be higher or lower than initially reported.
The police said that the dead children were aged from 18 months to 15 years.
"This is a tragic, tragic event," Asnicar said, adding a probe has been launched but "there is no formal suspect" as of Friday evening.
"We are talking to a range of people. Anybody who has had any involvement in the past two or three days is a person of interest," he said.
Police tried to calm down the fear that gripped the entire Cairns neighbourhood.
"As it stands at the moment, there's no need for the public to be concerned about," Asnicar said.
"The situation is well-controlled."
Asnicar said the police were called around 11:20 a.m. to the house.
The bodies were discovered by the 20-year-old brother of the slain kids. He is now being comforted by family members, according to the Cairns Post.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the news was heartbreaking. "All parents would feel a gut-wrenching sadness at what has happened," he said in a statement.
"These are trying days for our country. This is an unspeakable crime Tonight there will be tears and prayers across our country for these children."
The Friday's incident is one of Australia's worst mass killings and comes within days of a 17-hour siege in a Sydney cafe during which a gunman held dozens of people hostage. It ended with the police storming the cafe and killing the gunman, believed to a psychotic and posing as an Islamist gunman. Two of the hostages were killed in the crossfire.
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