Åtta barn knivmördade - Australien 19/12

Åtta barn har knivmördats i en förort till staden Cairns i norra Queensland, rapporterar australiska medier.

19 december 2014 kl 04:23, uppdaterad: 19 december 2014 kl 04:25

Enligt ett uttalande från polisen i Queensland hittades barnens kroppar i en bostad i Manoora, sedan de larmats dit efter uppgifter om en svårt skadad kvinna. Barnen uppges vara mellan 18 månader och 15 år gamla.

”En kvinna, som tros vara i 30-årsåldern, vårdas för sina skador och hjälper nu polisen med utredningen”, skriver polisen.

A far north regional crime co-ordinator, Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar, told Guardian Australia the public had nothing to fear from the incident, which officers now had in hand.

The mass murder was not believed to be terrorism-related but comes just days after a siege in Sydney which left two people and the gunman dead.

The murders occurred in a suburban house in Cairns, a northern coastal city and popular holiday destination in the state of Queensland. A 34-year-old woman was reportedly injured and taken to hospital.

A cousin of the family said the victims were all siblings from a family that was “mostly” indigenous. She said the slain children were discovered by an older brother, aged 20.

Australske medier melder at området er beryktet blant innbyggerne for å ha en høy kriminalitetsstatistikk, og at det overveldende flertallet av forstadens befolkning er urinnvånere.

Manoora ligger en ti minutters kjøretur unna sentrum av Cairns, en tropisk by på Australias nordøstkyst med drøyt 150.000 innbyggere.