Prince George’s County Police Department(CLINTON, Md.) — Three girls under the age of 10 were found dead Friday morning in a home in Clinton, Maryland, police said.
Around 7:37 a.m., 911 dispatchers received a call after an adult family member entered the home and founds the girls dead, said Jennifer Donelan, director of the media relations division for the Prince George’s County Police Department. The girls had sustained trauma to their bodies, Donelan said in a press conference outside the home.
Their deaths are being investigated as a homicide, she said.
Police met family members outside the home when they arrived on the scene, said Prince George’s County Police Deputy Chief Sammy Patel. Fire officials arrived on the scene shortly after police and pronounced the children dead, he said.
It is unclear how and if the children are related, and whose care they were left under, Donelan said.
We are on the scene of a homicide investigation in the 6400 blk of Brooke Jane Dr in Clinton. pic.twitter.com/9LbdLEMtz4
— PGPDNEWS (@PGPDNews) August 18, 2017
Additional details regarding the investigation were not released by police. Prince George’s County Police Assistant Chief Hector Velez said the community is “grieving the loss of three beautiful young children.”
“We are now in the midst of a major investigation into what happened to these children,” Donelan said, adding that it was one of the “most difficult scenes” the department’s officers have ever seen.
“I wear a uniform, but I am a father,” Velez said. “Those that responded here today are parents, aunts, uncles and siblings of young children that they care for very much.”
Police informed concerned members of the community that the case is only related to the home where the girls were found dead.
Velez said that he wants to “assure the community” that the police department will work “tirelessly” to find those responsible for their deaths.
Investigators are interviewing “a number” of people for the investigation, police said.
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