The hammer recovered from the scene of the attack by the police.
A 43-year-old woman was killed and her two children were in critical condition after being repeatedly struck with a hammer in their Brooklyn apartment by a man who also lived there. According to New York Times, the incident took place on Wednesday and the 47-year-old man was arrested. The police withheld the names of the attacker and the victims, but reveal the genders and ages of the children. One of them is a boy, aged 5, and another one a 3-year-old girl, said the outlet.
The woman and her two children were found inside a cramped room on the second floor of the building where they lived. This grim discovery was made just before 2pm by the cops who reached the spot in response to a 911 call.
The police officers first detained the man, his body covered in blood, as he was trying to exit the building, and later arrested him.
Quoting John Chell, the New York Police Department's chief of patrol, New York Post said that the victims lived in one room while the suspect and his 9-year-old son lived in another; and a single person lived in the third room of the modest three-bedroom apartment.
"The incident I'm about to describe to you is a horrific and senseless act of violence which took the life of a married mother of two," Mr Chell told reporters.
"I think I can speak for all New Yorkers when I say our community, all our prayers are with this family at this time," he added.
The police officer said it wasn't yet known what caused the man to attack his neighbours.
The woman was rushed to NYU Langone Hospital Brooklyn, where the doctors pronounced her dead. Both her children are in critical condition, said the police.
A hammer covered in blood was also recovered from the scene, the Post added.