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Multiple individuals were seriously injured in a brutal stabbing attack inside a New York home on Sunday morning.
Police shot the suspected attacker, who slashed four children at a residence in Brooklyn with a meat cleaver, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a briefing Sunday afternoon.
The NYPD received a call at around 10:15 a.m. for an assault in progress at 1671 84th Street in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, she said.
“The 11-year-old caller stated that she and her siblings had been stabbed by her uncle,” Tisch said, adding that the child did not know her address, but police technicians were able to determine it using technology at their disposal.
Upon arrival, officers were let into the residence by an uninjured child and heard screams coming from a door to their left. They kicked down the door of the apartment and saw a man standing near the entrance “holding a large meat cleaver covered in blood,” Tisch said.
“And they could see blood on the floor and the walls of the home,” Tisch said.
The man, who was identified as 49-year-old Longqian Chen, was ordered to drop the weapon several times but refused and advanced toward officers.
“Two officers discharged their firearms, firing seven total rounds between them and striking the subject, ending the threat,” Tisch said. Tisch said Chen was transported to the hospital in critical condition.
Officers found four victims, all girls, aged 8, 11, 13 and 16, Tisch said. All of them had “serious slash and stab wounds,” and were taken to area hospitals where they are expected to survive. Police said another child, an uninjured boy, was also at the home during the attack and went to the neighbor’s house to ask them to call 911.
Police believe the man is related to the victims, but are still investigating the exact relationship.
Tisch lauded the heroism of the 11-year-old girl, who hid in a room to call police, and the boy, who went to alert a neighbor.
Two knives were recovered from the scene and a motive is under investigation, according to the NYPD. The man has a history of mental illness, the police said, citing his family members.
There were no prior instances of domestic violence at the home, Tisch said.
CORRECTION (April 6, 2025 3:47 p.m. ET) Due to an editing error, a previous version of this story misstated that the suspected attacker was fatally shot. He was shot and transported to the hospital in critical condition, police said.
Mirna Alsharif is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.
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