Three children in Louisiana died in a house fire Wednesday that was allegedly set by their father, New Orleans police said in a news release.
An apparent domestic dispute between their parents led to the children’s deaths, according to the New Orleans Police Department.
The New Orleans Fire Department responded to the home shortly after midnight Wednesday after the children’s mother called 911.
According to police, she reported the children’s father, Joseph Washington Sr., 29, was threatening to burn the house down.
During the call for help, the mother told dispatchers, “He’s screaming on the phone. I hear the kids screaming. Y’all are just going to have to break through the door. Don’t let anything happen, please,” WVUE reported.
The mother was not home when the incident took place, the NOFD said.
Two of the children — a 5-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy — were found when the police entered the home. One of the children was “found in the front room just a few feet from the front door and the other (child) was not far away, between the kitchen and front room.”
The third child — a 3-year-old boy — was found deceased “near the center of the dwelling,” according to the NOPD.
The 5- and 7-year-old were transported to a nearby hospital, where they died about an hour later.
The causes of death for the children have not yet been determined, police said.
Police found Washington at an exit on Interstate 650 East. He was charged with three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of second-degree cruelty to a juvenile and one count of aggravated arson.