POLICE officers thwarted the efforts of a father who was trying to drown his two small children at a Connecticut beach early Saturday morning.
According to NBC News, an officer spotted an SUV parked on a beach in West Haven at about 2:30 a.m. and heard “significant screaming” from the water as he approached.
As the officer entered the water, the man continued to drift further away with the two children while screaming, “Stay back.”
According to a social media post by the West Haven Police Department, it had become obvious that the man “was deliberately drowning his children.”
Responding officers went out nearly 100 yards from shore and were joined by other rescuers on a fire boat.
The first officer to arrive was able to take the children, and other officers helped get them to shore.
Lifesaving measures were provided to the children and they were taken to a hospital, where they remained in intensive care on Saturday.
CrimesChroniclers reports that the father was immediately taken into custody.
“It is without a doubt the swift response by our patrol officers saved the lives of these children,” police said in the post.
A call seeking information on possible charges and additional details was made to police.
The incident, as of when filing this report, remained under investigation.
