A father who thought his wife had taken their three young children on a picnic was hit by devastating news at work: his five-year-old son had died, while the rest of his family was critically injured.
Police allege the 42-year-old mother attacked all three children, aged five and under, with a knife on a quiet Blue Mountains street on Sunday afternoon before injuring herself.
The five-year-old boy died in the incident, while his two younger siblings suffered critical injuries.
The children were still secured in their car seats when the alleged attack occurred in Valley Heights.
Two cyclists and a passing driver came across the family on Waratah Road and stopped to provide urgent assistance.
The mother and her two surviving children were taken for surgery at Westmead Hospital and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. All three remained in critical condition on Monday.
Investigators intend to question the mother if she survives her injuries, and police are expected to consider a homicide charge.
The children’s father went straight to hospital on Sunday after learning what had happened, seeking to be with his surviving children.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna described the scene officers encountered as “barbaric”.
“When you’re using knives, or edged weapons … it’s actually quite barbaric,” McKenna said.
“People cut people, it’s actually very confronting.”
He added: “Whenever there are children, it doesn’t get worse than that.”
Members of Sydney’s Kenyan community are supporting the father, and the Kenyan consulate has confirmed it is assisting the family.
Julie Sukkar, who lives nearby, initially assumed the commotion outside her home was linked to a traffic crash.
When she stepped outside, however, she saw a white four-wheel drive parked on a vacant block with its doors open. The three children were inside, while their mother was lying injured in nearby bushes.
Ms Sukkar told Daily Mail Australia that one of the children, a baby girl, was wearing a distinctive pink-and-white floral dress as rescuers lifted her from the car seat.
She said she initially saw only two children, then realised there were three inside the vehicle.
The injured woman, Ms Sukkar recalled, was shouting and thrashing on the ground, although it was unclear what she was saying or whether she was attempting to communicate.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Experts: Trump Government Could Take Unprecedented Midterm Role
“She was covered in blood and had some really bad injuries,” Ms Sukkar said.
Amid the rush of neighbours and emergency responders around the vehicle, Ms Sukkar said the children’s silence was the part she found hardest to witness.
‘The children were quiet. They were not screaming or crying. They were not moving.
‘That was hard to see. The police and the ambulance were here fast, and they did such a good job.’
Ms Sukkar said police initially handcuffed the mother before later removing the restraints as she was stretchered into an ambulance.
‘They took them off pretty quickly, once they realised she was no danger to anybody,’ she said.
Police said the family has no links to the Blue Mountains and were not previously known to officers.
Police will allege the wounds sustained by the mother were self-inflicted.
Ms Sukkar also praised the quick actions of the three strangers who stopped and raised the alarm, saying their decision to help may have saved the lives of the two surviving children.
‘There were two cyclists and one woman who I think was driving past and stopped,’ she said.
‘She was very distraught and got in the back to help the baby.
‘I think those kids probably wouldn’t have survived if they hadn’t stopped.’
Despite witnessing the bloody aftermath and later learning that police suspect the mother was responsible, Ms Sukkar said she could not bring herself to condemn her.
‘I felt really sad for her and for the kids as well,’ she said.
‘To be in that state of mind, I couldn’t even imagine it.
‘I have read Facebook posts with people calling her a monster. I think people can point the finger a little too early before they know what’s happened.
‘If you haven’t been through mental illness, you wouldn’t understand it.’
MORE ON THIS: Former Fox Producer Appears Defiant in Mugshot Following Serious Criminal Allegations