2 Toddlers Dead After Mother Jumps From Building With Child: Cops

CHICAGO, IL — Chicago police are investigating an apparent murder-suicide attempt that left two toddlers dead early Thursday at a South Shore high-rise building. The children are believed to be ages 1 and 2.

Police said they were called to the building around 1:45 a.m. and found a woman in her 30s and an infant on the ground after the woman reportedly jumped from the building with the child.

Officers entered an apartment and found a man in his 70s with lacerations to his face and body, and a male toddler unresponsive in a bathtub.

The man told police his daughter stabbed him before jumping out of an 11th-floor window with her 1-year-old son. The other toddler, 2, was left unattended in the bathtub, police said.

Both toddlers were pronounced dead at Comer Children's Hospital, police said.

The woman survived the fall, and she and her father were taken to University of Chicago Hospital in critical condition, according to police.

Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi called the incident "heartbreaking," saying the motive behind the crime remains unclear.

Anyone struggling with mental health can get help by calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, visiting this website or by texting HOME to 741741.