3 children dead, mother injured in Gary apartment fire

SHARE 3 children dead, mother injured in Gary apartment fire
garyfire.jpg

Three young children died in a fire at a Gary, Ind. apartment complex Friday night. The blaze has been ruled arson. | Network Video Productions

Homicide detectives are investigating after three young children were found dead in an apartment fire late Friday in Gary, Indiana.

Crews responded at 11:26 p.m. to the blaze at a unit of the Oak Knoll Renaissance apartment complex in the 4400 block of West 23rd Court, according to the Gary Fire Department.

A woman jumped from a second-story window to escape the flames and heavy smoke, fire officials said.

Once the fire was brought under control nearly an hour later, firefighters found two of her children dead in separate beds on the second floor, and a third child on a staircase, fire officials said.

RELATED: Fire that killed 3 children in Gary ruled arson

The Lake County coroner’s office identified a girl and boy as 4-year-old Alaya Pickens and 5-year-old Jayden Mitchell. They lived in the 3500 block of West 20th Avenue in Gary. On Monday, the coroner’s office identified the third child, a cousin, as a 2-year-old girl named Yaleah Cohen, who lived in the apartment where she died.

The woman was taken to a hospital with burns and was expected to survive, according to police and fire officials.

The Lake County Metro Homicide Unit and the Indiana State Fire Marshal are among the agencies investigating the fire, according to police and the coroner’s office. The cause is under investigation.

Firefighters at the scene of a fatal apartment fire in Gary, Indiana, late Dec. 23, 2016. | Network Video Productions

Firefighters at the scene of a fatal apartment fire in Gary, Indiana, late Dec. 23, 2016. | Network Video Productions

The Latest
The man was found unresponsive in an alley in the 10700 block of South Lowe Avenue, police said.
The man suffered head trauma and was pronounced dead at University of Chicago Medical Center, police said.
Another federal judge in Chicago who also has dismissed gun cases based on the same Supreme Court ruling says the high court’s decision in what’s known as the Bruen case will “inevitably lead to more gun violence, more dead citizens and more devastated communities.”
Women make up just 10% of those in careers such as green infrastructure and clean and renewable energy, a leader from Openlands writes. Apprenticeships and other training opportunities are some of the ways to get more women into this growing job sector.
Chatterbox doesn’t seem aware that it’s courteous to ask questions, seek others’ opinions.