Police are investigating a crime scene in Cairns where at least eight children aged between 18 months and 15 years have been stabbed to death.
The bodies were found at a house in Murray Street in the Cairns suburb of Manoora. Police are also treating a 34-year-old woman for chest wounds. She is said to be in a stable condition.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in a statement that it was an "unspeakable crime".
He added that "all parents would feel gut-wrenching sadness at what has happened".
Queensland Police were called to the residence in Murray Street at 11.20am local time (1.20am GMT) following reports of a woman with serious injuries.
"During an examination of the residence police located the bodies of the children, all aged between 18 months and 15 years," investigators confirmed in a statement.
Neighbours told journalists that the children were found in the house by their 20-year-old brother when he returned home, but this has yet to be confirmed by police, the BBC reports.
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said he was "deeply saddened and shocked. Indeed, the whole Cairns community and the people of Queensland will feel the effects of this tragedy, particularly at a time of year when families come together."
In a press conference, Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar said that police were hoping to speak to a number of people about the crime.
Asked if the 34-year-old woman was a suspect, Asnicar replied: "Anyone who’s had any involvement at all is a person of interest, we’re not talking about naming suspects at this stage."
The deaths come just days after a siege in Sydney ended with the gunman, Man Haron Monis, and two hostages dead.
In his statement, Abbott said these were "trying days for our country".
-
Grok in the crosshairs as EU launches deepfake porn probeIN THE SPOTLIGHT The European Union has officially begun investigating Elon Musk’s proprietary AI, as regulators zero in on Grok’s porn problem and its impact continent-wide
-
‘But being a “hot” country does not make you a good country’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Why have homicide rates reportedly plummeted in the last year?Today’s Big Question There could be more to the story than politics
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal
