Child Care Center Stabbing Reveals Cultural Issues For New Moms
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – After a horrific act of violence at an unlicensed Queens child care center, police are investigating whether the location was being used by Chinese women to deliver their babies and claim U.S. citizenship.
The nightmare scene played out at a residential home on 161st Street around 4 a.m. Friday morning. Police found nine babies in the building, three of them stabbed. The youngest was just a few days old.
MORE: Several People Stabbed, Including 3 Infants, At Unlicensed Child Care Facility In Queens
Local leaders say it may have been a place for new mothers living in the area to get help right after birth. It's tradition in the Chinese community for a new mother to stay home to be cared for by family and friends.
"It is a cultural thing to encourage the moms to not do anything and stay home at least for one month," NYC assemblyman Ron Kim explained to CBS2's Cindy Hsu. "But that is a luxury that most working families do not have."
Some new moms need to rely on outside help and allegedly turn to so called "after birth centers." The problem is they're not licensed or regulated. Many operating under the radar of law enforcement.
Local lawmakers are also warning women to fully research any place that's supposed to care for their children and make sure they're licensed. The suspect – a 52-year-old female who reportedly worked at the center - is in custody at a hospital undergoing a psychiatric evaluation.
