Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Police Sergeant Discusses Father Who Knifed Children

Aired July 02, 2001 - 07:31   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: Joining us on the telephone is Sergeant David Sackett of the Syracuse Police Department.

Sergeant Sackett, I understand that police received calls from neighbors, one of them saying that they heard screams. What else did the callers say?

SGT. DAVID SACKETT, SYRACUSE POLICE DEPARTMENT: One caller in particular actually gave a blow-by-blow description as to what was going on in the house from the time of the initial screaming by the child's mother outside to the point of where police were arriving on the scene and going into the house to find the children.

MCEDWARDS: And what did police find when they first got on the scene? Were the doors locked? Were they able to get in the house?

SACKETT: All the doors in the residence were secured. It was on the first floor. They determined by the 911 caller, as well as the mother, that the father of the children was in the rear of the house. Two of the children that they could see were on the floor, one in the living room, and one in the front room of the house.

Officers went to the back door, and forced their way into the first-level door and went up to the landing. At that point, they could see inside the door and could see one child. And we were given information by the neighbor that the father was walking around with a knife.

Our first officers made entry through the door with a canine. At that time, the father came towards the officer with the knife, at which time he was shot by the officer and subdued.

At that time, police entered the house with medical personnel, were able to determine that two of the children were dead, and one of them was in critical condition. He was taken to an area hospital and underwent several hours of emergency surgery.

MCEDWARDS: And the condition of the father at that point, you said he was shot by police and subdued. He did eventually die.

SACKETT: That's correct.

MCEDWARDS: And did that happen at the scene or later?

SACKETT: That happened at the scene.

MCEDWARDS: And the seven-year old child, how is he? What is his condition now? What do you know?

SACKETT: Last reports from the hospital is that he was in very critical condition, but he was stable. He had multiple knife wounds to his body.

MCEDWARDS: Sergeant Sackett, what do police know about this family, at this point?

SACKETT: Well, we know that we have not had any type of police contact with him. According to some neighbors' reports, there weren't problems at the house. We're trying to determine just what had set the father to do something like this. We're going to continue to do interviews today. We'll try to re-interview the children's mother, who was in a terrible state yesterday and was unable to talk with police.

MCEDWARDS: I imagine this must be a terribly difficult case for the police officers involved, as well?

SACKETT: Yes, it was very difficult. For officers, as well as medical personnel and fire personnel that went through there, to see children like that senselessly murdered, and just to see that, is something that will stay in their minds. Police officers did a tremendous job. They were there within a minute and some seconds, and we credit that quick response and their training probably to saving the life of that third child. Had we been there seconds later, we would probably had the third child dead at that time.

MCEDWARDS: All right, Sergeant David Sackett of the Syracuse Police Department, thanks very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com