A man suspected of stabbing his three young sons to death then apparently turning the knife on himself inside an SUV parked in South Los Angeles remained hospitalized Thursday, while police worked to determine a motive behind the attack.
Coroner’s officials, meanwhile, identified the three young victims as Alexander Fuentes, 8, Juan Fuentes, 9, and Luis Fuentes, 10.
Their father’s identity has not been released by police, but relatives told reporters his name was also Luis Fuentes.
The boys’ bodies were found around 7 a.m. Wednesday when officers were called to the 300 block of East 32nd Street in response to a report of an assault with a deadly weapon, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck said.
The three boys were found dead in the vehicle’s bloody back seat. Their father was in the front, covered in blood and suffering from stab wounds, police said.
John Sorrentino, who works near the scene, told reporters he was walking by the SUV and saw the man in the front seat, and he appeared to have blood on him. He said that as he approached the vehicle, he saw a boy he believed to be about 7 or 8 covered in blood and motionless, his eyes wide open. He said he then noticed at least one other body in the back seat and saw what appeared to be a box-cutter in the vehicle.
Beck said a knife was recovered at the scene. Police said the father is suspected of killing the three children, and no other suspect is being sought.
“The biological mother of the children we believe to be deceased. We believe there is a stepmother and she is safe,” Beck said.
It’s unclear what precipitated the attack, although a pastor said during a vigil Wednesday night the man was having financial problems, and he was living in the SUV with the boys.
“These are horrific incidents,” Beck said. “These are incidents that scar not only a community but the first responders who have to handle them. It is a sad day in Los Angeles, made only slightly better by the fact that we have a probable suspect in custody.”
LAPD Officer Liliana Preciado said the father’s name will not be released until he is booked, which will occur when his condition permits.
The bodies were found near Dolores Huerta Elementary School, but it was unclear if the children were students there. Los Angeles Unified School District Chief Deputy Superintendent Michelle King said the kids were all students in LAUSD schools, but she declined to identify them.
“The schools they attended have been notified, and crisis counselors have been provided,” King said. An LAUSD official said today the school district was still not identifying the schools the boys attended.
The killings occurred amid a rash of deadly violence in South Los Angeles that police have attributed to a raging war between rival gangs. Police have responded by sending more officers from the LAPD’s elite Metropolitan Division into the area.
“I take this personally,” said City Councilman Curren Price, who represents the area. “I live right around the corner, and I pass this way many times, been to the school many times. And to know that the kids that are back and forth here — full of life, full of vibrancy — and that these three are gone.”
“We’re going to be working closely with the community, with the police, others in the community to create a fund in memory of these youngsters and provide some support to the family,” Price said. “We ask the community to join us providing resources as a way of expressing our condolences but also providing assistance for the future.”
—City News Service