A 49-year-old man identified as Lun Chang Chen was shot by police after allegedly attacking four young girls with a meat cleaver in a Brooklyn apartment on Sunday morning, April 6. The suspect was taken to a hospital and remains in critical condition, according to law enforcement officials.
The violent incident unfolded around 10:15 a.m. on 84th Street in Brooklyn, when an 11-year-old girl, one of the victims, managed to lock herself in a room and call 911, telling dispatchers that her uncle had stabbed her and her siblings.
Officers encountered blood-covered suspect armed with cleaver
Responding officers were met with a disturbing scene. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters that officers arriving at the residence heard screaming from inside and began kicking down the door to gain entry.
“Once they entered, they encountered a man standing near the entrance holding a large meat cleaver covered with blood, and they could see blood on the floor of the home,” Tisch said, as reported by the New York Post.
Officers repeatedly ordered the suspect to drop the weapon, but he allegedly advanced toward them. “Two officers discharged their firearms, firing seven total rounds between them, striking the subject, ending the threat,” Tisch added.
Four girls seriously injured, but expected to survive
The victims—four girls aged 16, 13, 11, and 8—sustained serious slash and stab wounds. They were transported to Maimonides Medical Center and are expected to survive.
“This could have ended very differently,” Tisch said at the scene, crediting the swift action of the responding officers.
A fifth child, a boy, was also in the apartment at the time of the attack. According to Tisch, he fled the residence to seek help after the violence erupted.
Suspect lived in the home; motive remains unclear
Not much is currently known about Lun Chang Chen beyond the fact that he is believed to have resided in the apartment where the attack occurred. Investigators are still working to determine his motive and whether he is the biological father or uncle of the children.
“I was watching through the window and the girl covered in blood came out,” a neighbor named Maria told reporters. “And then there was another girl. The two girls were just covered in blood.”
“I was shaking. I’m still shaking now,” she added. “I don’t usually see them. They just moved here.”
Another neighbor, Humbert Huerta, recalled seeing the aftermath. “They brought out a guy on a stretcher, all bloody without a shirt. I don’t know who it was, but they shot him twice. They took him out and put him in the ambulance. Probably 40 years old.”
One victim may have been a babysitter, says local lawmaker
State Assemblyman Lester Chang, who represents the area, stated that one of the victims may have been a babysitter. The mother of the children was reportedly not home at the time of the attack.
As authorities continue their investigation, the community is left shaken by the gruesome nature of the attack and the ages of the victims involved.