NEW BERN, N.C. – 9 On Your Side continues to follow a developing story out of New Bern, where three children were killed Tuesday night.
The three children, ages 1, 5, and 12, were killed in their home on Pastuer Street, just a couple blocks away from Goose Creek.
Wednesday morning, New Bern Police held a news conference, detailing the events of the tragic crime.
Around 11 Tuesday night, neighbors on Pastuer Street reported a man with a knife in the area. When police arrived, they found the suspect and then five victims inside their home.
“The suspect, the best we can tell, is a neighbor and they all knew each other so this wasn’t a random event,” said New Bern Police Chief Toussaint Summers.
Investigators say 18 year old Eh Lar Doh Htoo has been charged with stabbing and killing three young boys. The juveniles were all brothers, ages 1, 5 and 12.
The boys’ mother and sister were also injured in the incident, but police would not confirm if they were stabbed. The father of the children was at work at the time of the stabbings. Police say Htoo had a machete-like knife when he was arrested.
“This is a horrific event for any community and we’re certainly going to investigate it to the fullest,” said Summers.
Many in the community are shaken by the brutal attacks. New Bern Police say when they arrived on the scene, two of the boys were already dead. The third victim died at CarolinaEast. The mother and sister have been released from the hospital and are in good condition.
Now, the New Bern Police and the SBI are continuing to gather more information to help answer some unfathomable questions.
“You can imagine at a scene like this or at an incident like this, there is a lot of evidence to collect so we’ll continue to collect evidence and then process that evidence,” said Summers.
And one thing everyone that has responded to the scene this morning is asking is why.
The police are not releasing a motive at this time. Currently, Htoo has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill inflicting serious injury but investigators expect more charges to be filed today. He’s in the Craven County Jail on a $1 million bond.
Htoo will make his first appearance in court Thursday.
Chief Summers says there will be grief counselors for officers, and they’ll be provided with anything they need to help them deal with what they saw when they responded to Tuesday night’s call.
The community says they will provide help for the two survivors of this incident.
The Interfaith Refugee Ministry has been in New Bern since the early 1990s. They’ve helped around 1,800 Burmese refugees in New Bern. They say they’re legal citizens and had to pass in-depth background check before being approved to come.
They also say for a family that already went through so much back in their home country, the events last night are heartbreaking.
“I can’t imagine how the family, both families feel, but our hearts as a staff just go out to the families and we are just really in shock at this point,” explained Susan Husson, Dir., Interfaith Refugee Ministry.
Husson did say the Burmese community in New Bern is very close. She says they have a psychologist on staff who will be able to step in and help de brief the family.
Some at home may be wondering how they can help. Husson says the best thing would be to donate money so the mother and father had one less thing to worry about.
Donate to Interfaith Refugee Ministry, 1233 Colony Drive, New Bern, N.C. 28560. Money should be earmarked as Family or Victim Family of Violent Act.
3 NC kids age 1,5,12 killed in machete attack, teen neighbor charged
