A married New York mother of two is dead, and her young children critically injured after they were reportedly attacked with a hammer in their Brooklyn apartment. Liyong Ye, 47, allegedly brutally beat Zhao Zhao, 43, and her 5-year-old son, David, and 3-year-old daughter, Yaya, in the family’s apartment on 52nd Street in Sunset Park.
New York Police Department Chief of Patrol John Chell said in a news conference that Ye, Zhao, and a third individual shared the apartment with their children. According to CBS News, Zhao’s husband reportedly works in Ohio and comes home monthly to visit his family. The outlet said he was making his way back to the city at the time of the attack.
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Police arrived on the scene around 3 p.m. on August 23.
Chell explained that Zhao and her family occupied one of the three bedrooms in the apartment. Ye and his 9-year-old son shared another; a third person lived in the third bedroom. Chell said police responded to the apartment on a call about an assault in progress.
Upon arrival, they found the victims bloodied inside the building. They were reportedly transferred to NYU Langone Hospital, where Zhao was pronounced dead, and her children remain in critical condition. Ye was allegedly covered in blood and arrested as he tried to leave the building.
Police found a weapon at the scene.
Chell said, “Now it appears those injuries were caused by a hammer attack.” NYPD News shared an image of the bloody weapon that allegedly killed Zhao.
The chief expressed condolences for the victims of the violent attack. “On behalf of New York City, everyone here, our hearts go out to this family,” he said.
Investigators are trying to determine a motive.
When asked what led up to the attack, Chell said it was too early in the investigation to determine what happened. He said Ye was being interviewed by detectives about the alleged attack and would let them “do what they do best.” He shared that the apartment was small, and the three families lived in “tight quarters.”
The neighborhood where the attack took place is home to multiple immigrant families.
The New York Times reported that many Chinese immigrants live in this area of Brooklyn. State Senator Iwen Chu told the outlet the victims and suspect were natives of China’s Fujian Province.
She said she was unsure about what Zhao’s husband did for a living, but he was likely working in the restaurant industry. She explained that families in the area often live in challenging situations.
“There’s so much stress, mental, financial, emotional, family,” she said. “But what would cause you to do that?”
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The incident had the neighborhood buzzing.
Lailing Yu lives a few blocks from the crime scene and told the NY Times that neighbors were discussing the situation on the WeChat app and that some speculated the altercation was due to a rent dispute. She claimed a neighbor sent a video of police clutching the bloodied children.
“I was shocked. Because the majority of Chinese people try to stay out of trouble,” she explained.
ABC 7 reported Ye was charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. He reportedly has no prior criminal history.
