NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A man was being questioned by police after a man believed to be his father was found stabbed to death and three other people, believed to be family members, were found unconscious at a Queens apartment Thursday morning.
Authorities responded to a 911 call about an emotionally disturbed man at an apartment building on Hempstead Avenue, near 221st Street in Queens Village, around 6:30 a.m. Citizen App video shows numerous emergency responders at the scene.
Police said officers found a disoriented man in his 30s in the hallway of the building.
"Officers observed the man in hallway acting very incoherently. He made statements he had injured somebody inside the apartment," NYPD Deputy Chief Joseph Kenny said at a press conference.
In the bathroom, officers discovered a 72-year-old man—believed to be the man’s father—dead from apparent stab wounds, police said.
A pair of scissors was found in the hallway, but police said they hadn’t determined if it was a weapon.
Three other people—believed to be the man’s mother, brother and sister-in-law—were found unconscious together on a mattress in the living room, police said, adding they showed no signs of trauma.
Officials initially believed it may have been a carbon monoxide incident, but air samples were taken, and no irregularities were found, police said. The apartment was ventilated as a precaution.
Police are now looking into whether the three of them ingested a "toxic substance." They were taken to area hospitals and are expected to survive.
The apartment is being processed as a crime scene.
The man in his 30s was taken to a hospital for an evaluation. He was taken into custody and questioned by police. He has not been charged.
Police said the apartment where this incident took place doesn’t have a prior history of domestic violence or any other calls involving emotionally disturbed people.