Story By: Jonathan Macias, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
Video Credit:CEN
This is the moment bystanders douse water on a burning home that was allegedly set alight by a dad to stop his six kids escaping after he stabbed them.
The shocking incident took place in the Asturias neighbourhood in the municipality of Cuauhtemoc in the Mexican state of Mexico and the father reportedly tried to commit suicide by stabbing himself on the roof of the burning building, with footage showing him standing on top of the house.
Local media report the man, who has been named as Jorge Israel Villafuerte Elizalde, 33, in reports, had invited his children and his ex-wife around to his house to celebrate a birthday party.
Then when his ex-wife, and mother of the children, Angelica, left the house, he is suspected of having stabbed all six of his children.
He is then alleged to have doused his home in petrol and set it on fire to stop the children escaping whilst he climbed onto the roof of the building.
Local media report he stabbed himself whilst on top of the building and footage taken at the scene shows a man standing on the roof as smoke bellows from inside. Onlookers are working to tackle the blaze with buckets of water in the video.
Report state then when the police arrived at the scene the suspect jumped from the roof but he survived the fall and was transferred to a hospital under police custody.
Paramedics from the Rescue Squad and Medical Emergencies (ERUM) reportedly attended to the children, who were transferred to the paediatric hospital of Tacubaya.
The Ministry of Health of Mexico City reported that five of the six minors are in hospital and their status is stable while the eldest girl, 17, died as a consequence of the stab wounds and burns.
The institution explained that five of the six minors had entered the Tacubaya Paediatric Hospital at 10:10 p.m. on 1st October aged three, eight, and nine years old, two children aged 10 years old and a 12-year-old girl. They all have burns to between 15 and 50 percent of their body.
The 12-year-old girl, who was transferred to the Balbuena General Hospital, died on Tuesday as a result of the burns and stab wounds.
The father was reportedly intoxicated at the time and was taken to hospital with a stab wound and burns to 70 percent of his body. He remains in hospital under police custody.
Local media report he claimed a fire had suddenly started in the house and he used some bottles of what he thought contained water to put the blaze out but they actually contained petrol. He was unable to explain why the children had suffered stab wounds.
The Office of the Attorney General of Mexico City report that an investigation has been launched into the incident. It is unclear if the suspect has been charged.
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