By Lisa Pemberton
The Olympian
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Three young children were hospitalized with neck wounds, and their mother was arrested for investigation of attempted murder early Sunday morning, according to Olympia police Lt. Jim Costa.
The children, a 2-year-old toddler and a 6-month-old twins, are at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma where they underwent surgery for life threatening injuries, Costa said.
“The kids are out of surgery as best I understand right now,” Costa said.
On Sunday afternoon, hospital spokeswoman Marce Edwards said their conditions were not being released to the media, due to health privacy rules.
Police officers and paramedics responded to a request for medical assistance at a home on 10th Court Southeast in Olympia at 1:18 a.m., Costa said. It’s where they found three children with “significant injuries to their necks that were caused by a knife,” Costa said.
The mother, a 29-year-old woman, was booked into the Thurston County Jail. The father was released from custody, Costa said. Child Protective Services is involved in the case.
In the meantime, emergency crews will be offered counseling or extra support to help process what they witnessed at the scene.
“It’s a pretty horrible event to have to put your officers through, and we have a lot of first responders, as well as the dispatchers, and a lot of them have children of their own,” Costa said. “It affects people. You’re talking about tiny little infants who have no means — are defenseless — and certainly don’t understand or ask for this in their life.”
©2015 The Olympian (Olympia, Wash.)