Two 6-year-old girls were killed and at least 11 people were injured when a stabbing suspect driving a stolen police cruiser crashed into two vehicles near a library in Dayton, Ohio, officials said.
Monday's incident began when police received a report of a stabbing in the city at about 7:10 p.m., police said, according to NBC affiliate WDTN in Dayton.
The stabbing suspect had fled the scene, and a short time later, police responded to a single-vehicle crash in which the suspect's vehicle apparently hit a tree. Once again, the suspect fled the scene but this time in a stolen police cruiser from Riverside, a city several miles east of Dayton, according to Dayton police Lt. Col. Eric Henderson.
Three minutes later, the suspect, who was driving the stolen cruiser at a high speed, crashed into at least two occupied vehicles and several parked cars near the Dayton library, police said. At least 11 people had to be removed from their vehicles after the collision.
"Obviously, this is a tragic incident that occurred in a very short time frame," Henderson told local media.
The two children who died were identified Tuesday as Eleanor McBride, 6, of Huber Heights, Ohio, and Penelope Jasko, 6, of Dayton.
Five children were taken to local hospitals, one of them in critical condition, WDTN reported.
In addition to the 11 wounded victims, the suspect was also taken to a hospital with injuries.
Video from the scene by WDTN shows a heavily damaged police car with the front and the rear smashed in.
Another Riverside police vehicle responding to the first accident call was struck and disabled. Two of its officers suffered what were described as minor injuries and were to be examined at a local hospital, Riverside police Major Matthew Sturgeon said.
Police in Riverside, a city of around 25,200, are expected to release more details on the incident Tuesday.
