Two girls and their father dead in apparent murder-suicide in Placentia, police say

Two young girls and their father have died in an apparent murder-suicide in Placentia, authorities said.

Officers with the Placentia Police Department responded to a call near Brookhaven and Swanson avenues around 12:30 a.m., officials said. The girls were found with stab wounds in the living room of their home.

Their father was found dead in a nearby frontyard. He appeared to have stabbed himself after stabbing his daughters, officials said.

Early reports indicated the girls were 9 years old, but Placentia police Lt. Adam Gloe could not confirm their ages Wednesday morning, and none of the victims’ names have been released.

“My heart goes out to the family,” Placentia police Sgt. Bryce Angel told reporters at the scene, calling it a “tragic situation.”

“We’re trying to get to the bottom of this — why it happened,” Angel said.

In an interview with KTTV-TV, Angel said the girls’ mother was asleep in the house when her husband began stabbing their daughters. She woke up and attempted to intervene, but it was too late. Emergency responders attempted to save the girls, who died at the scene.

City News Service contributed to this report.