CNN
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Authorities are investigating the deaths of three children who were found unresponsive along a New York City shoreline early Monday after a family member reported concerns about their safety.
The children – a 7-year-old boy, a 4-year-old girl and a 3-and-a-half-month-old girl – were found in Brooklyn’s Coney Island around 4:42 a.m., said New York Police Chief of Department Kenneth Corey.
A woman police say is believed to be the kids’ mother was at a hospital Tuesday undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, a law enforcement official said. She has not been charged with a crime, police said.
All three children were pronounced dead after first responders conducted life-saving measures, including CPR, Corey added.
“We don’t know exactly what happened here,” Corey said Monday during a news conference, stressing the information was preliminary.
The 30-year-old woman authorities said was believed to be the mother was questioned by police Monday morning after they found her in Brighton Beach, adjacent to Coney Island. She was later hospitalized, police said, not disclosing her condition.
There is no indication at this time of prior abuse or neglect of the children, authorities noted.
As investigators piece together what exactly happened to the children and the woman, here is what we know about how the events unfolded:
Police got a 911 call at 1:40 a.m. Monday from someone who was concerned a “family member may have harmed her three small children,” Corey said. The caller asked police to check on the woman’s apartment.
When police arrived at the apartment, a man who identified himself as the father of one of the three children said he was also concerned, Corey added. The man told police he believed the woman and three children were at a boardwalk on Coney Island.
For about 90 minutes, police officers canvassed beaches, streets and a local hospital. Then another 911 call came in directing officers to a specific location – Brighton 6th Street and Riegelmann Boardwalk in nearby Brighton Beach.
The caller reported a woman who was despondent, a police spokesperson told CNN.
When officers arrived, they found the woman and other family members with her. The children were not there.
The search continued via ground, air and harbor units. Around 4:42 a.m., officers found the children unconscious on the shoreline at West 35th Street in Coney Island, Corey said.
The spot where the children were found is about 2 miles from where the woman was found.
She was “soaking wet” when investigators made contact with her, said Corey, who noted it was not clear whether she’d been in the rain or in the water off the coast.