Three children were killed in a house fire Wednesday morning shortly after their father threatened to burn the home down, according to the New Orleans Police Department.
New Orleans Fire Department firefighters were dispatched to the single-family home just after midnight and notified of possible persons trapped.
“Upon arrival, firefighters were told that three children were unaccounted for and possibly still inside. Fire personnel quickly began an interior attack of the fire while simultaneously conducting a primary search of the dwelling,” the fire department said in a news release.
Two of the juveniles, a 5-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy, were found unresponsive soon after firefighters entered the home, near the front door. Firefighters attempted to resuscitate both kids before they rushed to a nearby hospital. However, both succumbed to their injuries.
Around 12:25 a.m., the firefighters continued searching for the third juvenile while trying to prevent the fire from spreading to occupied dwellings on both sides of the burning house. The third child, a 3-year-old boy, was found near the center of the home and determined to be dead at the scene.
The fire was brought under control around 12:40 a.m.
According to NOLA.com, the mother of the children called 911 around 11:55 p.m. on Tuesday night and claimed their father had threatened to burn the house down. She was on her way to the home when the fire started, police said.
The fire is being investigated as arson and the death’s homicide, but no suspects have officially been named. The parish coroner has yet to determine the official causes of death.
Surveillance video showed a person fleeing the home in a black Dodge Charger, according to WVUE. A similar car was recovered Wednesday morning at the foot of an embankment in Gretna, about 14 miles southwest from the site of the fire.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Troy McDonnell, the grandfather of the three dead kids, told WVUE that his son Joseph Washington was in custody. He faces three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of cruelty to juveniles, and one count of aggravated arson, the station reported.
David Matthews
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