A 43-year-old mother was beaten to death with a hammer in a Sunset Park rooming house in Brooklyn, New York on Wednesday afternoon, August 23.
Her two young children, a son aged five and a daughter aged three, were found battered in their cramped room and are now fighting for their lives.
The New York Police Department responded to a 911 call about an ongoing assault shortly before 2 pm. Upon arrival, officers apprehended 47-year-old Liyong Ye attempting to leave the building on 52nd Street near 5th Avenue. The man, visibly stained with blood, resided in a separate room of the three-bedroom apartment. His nine-year-old son lived with him, while another tenant occupied the third room.
During a press briefing, NYPD Chief of Patrol, John Chell, described the incident as a “horrific and senseless act of violence” that claimed the life of a married mother.
Footage obtained by The New York Post showed police officers carefully transporting the bloodied children from the scene. They were taken to NYU Langone Hospital Brooklyn, where the mother, Zhao Zhao, was declared dead. Her two children remain in critical condition. The father is believed to work in a restaurant in Ohio, visiting his family approximately once a month.
A bloodstained hammer was recovered from the building, shedding light on the crime scene details. The apprehended suspect was taken to the 72nd Precinct station house for interrogation.
The investigation is ongoing as authorities seek to understand the motive behind this brutal act. The families involved are immigrants from Fujian province of China, in a neighborhood with a large population originating in China.
