New York woman accused of stabbing three babies

NEW YORK — A woman stabbed five people — including three babies — and then slashed her wrist early Friday inside a New York City home that was apparently being used as an unlicensed neighborhood nursery, authorities said.

All of the victims in the attack, which happened before 4 a.m., were hospitalized but expected to survive.

The 52-year-old suspect, an employee at the nursery, was taken into police custody and was being treated for her wounds and undergoing a psychiatric examination, authorities said.

No immediate charges were filed, and police said the motive was under investigation.

Investigators were trying to piece together what happened inside the building, a three-story, multifamily townhouse in a neighborhood popular with Chinese immigrants in the Flushing section of Queens.

Local elected officials said it appeared it was an unlicensed facility for new mothers and their babies to convalesce for a month, in keeping with Chinese tradition.

“This is every parent’s worst nightmare imaginable,” said state Assemblyman Ron Kim. He said it had apparently been operating for more than 10 years.

Police responding to a 911 call discovered a 3-day-old girl and a 1-month-old girl who had been stabbed in the abdomen, and a 20-day-old girl with cuts on her ear, chin and lip. The father of one of the children and a woman who worked there were also stabbed, police said.

The woman suspected in the attack was discovered bleeding and unconscious, police said.