A young boy was found dead and his parents were stabbed inside their Queens apartment by a man gunned down by police Thursday evening, NYPD officials said.
The tragic incident is still under investigation, but police said the 20-year-old man believed to be behind the July 4 violence was confronted by police and shot dead by a single shot.
Officers responded to the Jamaica building on 94th Avenue around 5:30 p.m. after the boy's mother ran outside bleeding and yelling for help, NYPD Chief John Chell said at a press conference.
Police rushed to the family's apartment on the fifth floor, where Chell said they entered and found the 20-year-old suspect holding his father in a headlock and a knife to his neck. The officers gave multiple commands for the man to drop the knife, in English and Spanish, but they were ignored, the chief said.
Chell would not say how the young boy, 8, had died, but sources said he had multiple stab wounds to his chest.
His mother, 29, and father, 43, were being treated for their stab wounds. The 20-year-old man was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
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There was also an 8-month-old baby inside the apartment during the terrifying ordeal, but Chell said the infant was physically unharmed.
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The circumstances of the violent attacks and what may have motivated the suspect were still under investigation.
