Police have identified the mother who was killed in a harrowing Brooklyn hammer attack, as well as the man who police believe is responsible for the attack.
Zhao Zhao was killed inside a Sunset Park apartment on 52nd Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues around 2 p.m. Wednesday, according to police. The 43-year-old was attacked along with her 3-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son in their second-floor home, police said.
Law enforcement sources said the mother got into an argument with Liyong Ye, who also lived in the apartment, before the man bludgeoned her with a hammer — before going after her children. Police said it was too early to determine why the attacker also went after the kids.
All three victims were rushed via ambulance to Lutheran Hospital after they were critically injured in the attack, law enforcement sources tell News 4. The mother did not survive her injuries. The children were recovering from their injurie, but were said to be in critical condition.
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Ye was taken into custody outside of the building, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said, and faces charges including second-degree murder, attempted murder and more. Police said that Ye came out of the apartment building covered in blood. The hammer apparently used in the attack was also recovered, covered in blood.
Police are still trying to piece together what happened, but they say the mother and her children rented a bedroom in the same apartment where the attacker also lived in a room with his child. Sources said there was a dispute of some sort; local officials say the fight may have been over rent.
Ye also told someone on Wednesday that he planned to fight with Zhao, then called that person to say he did something wrong, sources told NBC New York.
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An investigation is ongoing.
