A woman is facing five counts of attempted murder after allegedly going on a stabbing spree at a child care center in New York on Friday morning.
Yu Fen Wang, 52, is accused of slashing three infants, a colleague and a fifth victim before ending the carnage with a failed suicide attempt.
The trio of infants were 12, 22 and 33 days old at the time of the stabbing. All victims are expected to recover following hospitalization.
A fourth baby, a nine-day-old girl, sustained a skull fracture at the time of the incident, but it is unclear if Wang actually caused her injuries.
Wang has been put under psychiatric watch after the brutal rampage on the first floor of the facility in Flushing, Queens. Police retrieved a butcher knife and a meat cleaver at the scene.
Following the incident, investigations into the business, Mei Xin Care Incorporated, also commenced. The facility was unlicensed, ABC Eyewitness News reported.
According to the New York Times, the child care center is believed to be a hub for “birth tourism,” where foreign mothers allegedly use their newborns to gain leverage in obtaining U.S. citizenship. The babies, when born on U.S. soil, become American citizens.
“We pray that all of the victims will be fine and will survive these injuries,” said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. “We are hoping these young babies, small and so very fragile, are also strong enough to overcome this horrible act of senseless violence.”
Chen Wang, unrelated to the suspect, the father of one of the infants, said that the knife went “from the front to the back” of his baby’s body.
“This is our first child. We try our best to help the mommy and the baby,” he told the New York Post. “We didn’t know we gotta suffer this much. We didn’t know that there is crazy people in there.”
A motive has not been determined. Everything seemed fine before Wang left for work at the center on Thursday night.
“Everything seemed normal with her,” her husband told the South China Morning Post. “No red flags, no issues.”
His wife’s first court appearance is pending and he is yet to find a lawyer.
“I don’t know what I can do,” he added.
