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CNN Live At Daybreak

Children Stabbed: Syracuse Boy Remains in Critical Condition

Aired July 02, 2001 - 07:04   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: A family tragedy, this time in Syracuse, New York: One child remains hospitalized in critical condition, his two brothers dead after being stabbed, police say, by their father.

CNN's Jason Carroll is in Syracuse right now with the latest -- Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, Colleen, I am standing in front of the Tran home. If you take a look here, you can see that there are flowers here; there are candles. If you look down here, even some of the neighbors have left letters for the Tran family.

What happened out here began on Saturday night. Neighbors apparently heard screams coming from the house and called 911. The children's mother had come home from a wedding. The door was locked. She looked through a window and saw one of her children lying on the floor. The children's father, Cuong Tran, told her through the door that he was killing her children.

Police forced their way in and found Tran had stabbed his three children. Danny, 6, Randy, 5, were dead. Andy, the oldest, was barely alive. Police say they were forced into shooting Tran after he came at them with a knife. Even senior officers said what they saw inside was something they could not believe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JOHN FALGE, SYRACUSE POLICE: To see those children there, laying there, was just a horrific, horrific sight. I've never -- in 28 years, I have never seen anything like it.

ROY BERNARDI, MAYOR OF SYRACUSE: ... the terrible tragedy that occurred, but it was the actions of the Syracuse Police Department and the police officer that was involved in taking the life of Mr. Tran that 7-year-old Andy Tran is alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: ... nursing supervisor this morning at University Hospital who told me that Andy is still in critical condition. Police are going to be interviewing the children's mother and relatives, trying to find out a motive, Colleen, for what happened out here. Over the weekend, initial reports had indicated that the couple were having problems. They had been married for eight -- excuse me -- they had been a couple for eight years, living together for eight years, but they were not married -- Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: Jason, what more is known about the mother? Has her identity been released or anything about her whereabouts, her state of mind this morning?

CARROLL: Well, apparently, she had to be treated at the hospital for shock, obviously regarding what had happened. Her name has not been released yet. Again, police are still in the process of interviewing her and interviewing relatives, Colleen, to get more of an idea what drove this man to commit such a horrible act.

MCEDWARDS: Understood.

CNN's Jason Carroll, thanks.

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