Police on Monday were horrified when they were called to a farmhouse in the village of Magheramorne, near Larne, Northern Ireland only to find a child stabbed to death while another baby and mum were seriously injured.
As officers gathered around 10 a.m on Monday, a toddler was found dead inside the isolated farmhouse while another baby and their mum, a nurse in her 30s, was also injured in the attack police say will be treated as a “domestic incident”.
Police believe a family of four had been renting the property since last year and have now sealed off the property while forensics experts gather evidence.
Speaking to Sky News, Neighbour Rhonda Kernohan who leaves around the crime scene said: “I heard the sirens and the helicopter, the air ambulance, came and it landed up at the back of the farm.
“We thought it was a farm accident but when we looked out there was a lot of shouting and a lot of police, a lot of ambulances about.”
Another neighbour who lived around the crime scene added; “It was very sad. We are feeling absolutely awful, so sad it is terrible.
“The shock of it, when it happens nearly on your doorstep.”
A police spokesperson said: “We are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a young child in the Larne area today.
“A woman in her 30s and a baby are currently receiving hospital treatment for injuries.
