A 10-month-old baby was among three young children found dead in a “deeply distressing” incident in a Bristol home on Sunday, police have said.
Police were called to Blaise Walk in the Sea Mills area of the city at 12.40am on Sunday after receiving a “concern for welfare call”.
The three children found at the property were a 10-month-old boy, a three-year-old girl and a boy aged seven.
A 42-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder. She remains in police custody.
Chief Inspector Vicks Hayward-Melen from Avon and Somerset Police said post-mortems will now take place to establish the children’s cause of death. They are likely to be completed by the end of this week.
Formal identifications of the children are yet to be released.
Chief Inspector Hayward-Melen said police are treating it as an isolated incident and there is no ongoing threat to the wider community.
“The death of such young children is a great shock to the whole community, and this incident has had a profound impact on all of us in the police,” she said.
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“We’ve been humbled by the community response to this tragedy. At a time of great sadness and disbelief, we’ve seen spontaneous acts of care and support.
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“Within hours of the incident occurring, a local church was opened up for people to gather and mourn. This is what being in a community is all about and we’d like to thank all those who continue to offer this important and selfless service.”
She said detectives from the Major Crime Investigation Team are in the early stages of what she called a “highly sensitive, complex and thorough investigation”.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct has been alerted of the incident because there was “prior police contact earlier this month”.
A spokesperson said earlier on Monday: “We have requested a paper referral with further information about the prior contact and once received, we will assess it to determine whether further action is required from us.”
