NEW YORK—Five children locked in a room in a homeless shelter in lower Manhattan on Thursday were released unharmed, police said.
The ages of the children had not been released. The woman was considered an emotionally disturbed person, and has been taken to Bellevue Hospital. The only information police could release about her identity at this time is that she is black.
“For some reason she locked herself and those kids into a room” and wouldn’t allow other adults to enter, the spokesman said. It was unknown if the woman was related to the children.
The woman has also been charged with unlawful imprisonment, a spokesman for the NYPD said.
Reports on Twitter based on scanner traffic had indicated that the building the children were being held in was a Department of Education building, which turned out to be incorrect.
Story developing; check back for updates
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