Father arrested in connection to New Orleans house fire that killed 3 children

Three children were killed when a fire broke out at a New Orleans home early Wednesday morning after their father threatened to set fire to the home, police say. The father was arrested Wednesday outside New Orleans.

The mother of the three children, who was not at the home when the blaze broke out, called 911 around 11:55 p.m. Tuesday to report that the children’s father threatened to burn the house down, the New Orleans Police Department shared with USA TODAY. The home was engulfed in flames when first responders arrived around midnight. 

After receiving emergency medical attention at the scene, two of the three children, a 5-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy died after they were admitted into a hospital. 

The third child, a 3-year-old boy, was found dead inside the home by fire personnel as they worked to extinguish the fire, police said. 

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Father tried to jump off overpass before arrest, police say

Joseph Washington, the father of the children, was arrested by authorities around 11:40 a.m. in connection with the fire that killed the three children.

The 29-year-old is currently facing three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of cruelty to a juvenile and one count of aggravated arson, according to a press conference held at NOPD headquarters Wednesday afternoon.

"Collectively, we are outraged; we are disappointed; we are deeply saddened. So as a collective voice, we share the outrage of this community ... We are here because of a tragic and senseless and horrific death of three young children last night in a domestic violence situation," Interim NOPD Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick said.

The flames that engulfed the home appeared to originate from the back of house, according to surveillance video collected byWVUE. A person was also caught on tape fleeing the home in a black Dodge Charger. 

New Orleans police have confirmed that the car captured on video and later recovered partially submerged in the Mississippi River in neighboring city, Gretna belonged to Washington.

Washington was making his way down in interstate in a different vehicle when officers caught up to him. He tried to jump off an overpass after the vehicle he was driving stalled, police said.

The extent of the injuries Washington experienced during his arrest are unknown, police said.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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Local community expresses support for grieving family members

The children's mother, who has just lost her family is the one person we should be worried about most, Ray Avenue Baptist Church pastor Robert Brown told WWL-TV station in New Orleans.

"There shouldn't be nothing in his brain to ignite that kind of behavior. Right now, we have to concern ourselves with this mother that's in the hospital. She is devastated. She's going to need a lot of help. She's going to need a lot of care," Brown said.

The children will continue to exist in the minds and hearts of those who love them most, the children's step grandmother Angela Palmer-Brown told the station.

They are the one thing that can't be erased from her memory.

"Our world is turned upside down because they were nothing but angels ... I see them on that porch. I see them. I'm going to always see them. It's tattooed in my brain," Palmer-Brown said.