Sept. 09--The bodies of three boys found stabbed to death in an SUV in South L.A. on Wednesday were brothers, and their father was hospitalized with a stab wound in his chest, police said.
At a somber news conference, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said officers came upon a "gruesome sight" just before 7 a.m. when a witness called police and reported an assault with a deadly weapon.
The officers found a silver SUV in the 300 block of East 32nd Street with a man stabbed in the front seat, and his three sons in the back seat. all dead from multiple stab wounds. The children were between 8 and 12 years old, Beck said.
"These are incidents that scar not only the community, but the first responders who have to handle them," Beck said.
Police took a man into custody in the boys' slaying. A knife was found inside the car. There were no other suspects.
The boys were found across the street from an elementary school they did not attend, but they were students in the L.A. Unified School District, Beck said.
LAPD Det. Meghan Aguilar said police are still trying to determine what they were doing in the area.
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She acknowledged it was a "very emotional" scene for police, paramedics and other first responders.
"Many of us are parents," Aguilar said. "It's hard enough to see a child be a victim of any crime, much less three children murdered."
The children's stepmother was safe and was being interviewed by police, officials said. There was no record of a custody dispute involving the children.
City Councilman Curren Price said a fund is being created to help the children's family.
A prayer vigil was planned for 5 p.m. Wednesday at the location where the boys were found.
The incident comes amid a rise in crime in Los Angeles, particularly in South L.A., where an ongoing feud among gangs has claimed several lives over the last two months.
Thirty-nine people died in Los Angeles in August alone, statistics show.
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UPDATE
12:26 p.m.: This story was updated with information about a vigil.
11:34 a.m.: This story has been updated with the boys' ages and other details.
10:21 a.m.: This story was updated with details about the location of the bodies and knife.
9:37 a.m.: This story was updated with new details.
This story was first published at 8:26 a.m.
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