THE mother of three young children found fatally stabbed in a Los Angeles apartment in the United States was in custody Saturday in connection with the crime, police said.

Liliana Carrillo, 30, was described as the “sole suspect” in the attack, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) tweeted. The LAPD said the ages of the children were 3 years old, 2 years old and 6 months old, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The LAPD said Carrillo had been detained in Ponderosa, California, a Sierra Nevada mountain community more than 320 kilometers from Los Angeles. “These are the moments we carry throughout our career,” Lt. Raul Joel told reporters at the scene. “It’s hard to process that as a police officer.”

Police said they had received reports that Carrillo had committed a carjacking in the Bakersfield area and might be driving a stolen silver Toyota pickup, the Times reported. She was later taken into custody in Tulare County.

Carrillo was receiving medical treatment for unspecified reasons, Joel said at a news conference, where Lt. Anthony Cato said relatives were being interviewed about the case.

It couldn’t immediately be determined if Carrillo had a lawyer.

The grim discovery of three child victims was made by their grandmother around 9:30 a.m. in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Reseda, LAPD Sgt. David Bambrick told NBC Los Angeles.

(SD-Agencies)