Three siblings who were found dead at home in Bristol died due to knife injuries, police have said.
Fares Bash, 7, Joury Bash, 3, and Mohammed Bash, nine months, were found dead at a property in the Sea Mills area of the city on Sunday.
A 42-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder.
She remains in hospital undergoing treatment for non-life threatening injuries.
In statement released on Friday, Chief Inspector Vicks Hayward-Melen said: “The loss of such young children, who had their whole lives ahead of them, is truly heartbreaking and our thoughts remain with their family and everyone affected by this tragedy.
“Our specialist liaison officers will continue to provide their next of kin with any help and support they need.
“Over the past few days, forensic post-mortem examinations have been carried out on the children. We can now confirm the cause of death for each child was knife injuries.
“A 42-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of their murder remains in hospital undergoing treatment for non life-threatening injuries.”
The investigation into the incident is “progressing at pace”, the force added.
A vigil is due to be held later today in memory of the children.
At the time of the killings, members of the Sudanese community gathered at the Sea Mills Methodist Church to pay their respects to the children.
People had travelled from as far as Newport, South Wales, to visit the church, which is around the corner from where the incident took place.
Salwa Bashar, a family friend from Bristol, said: “I have known this family for over six years now.
“They are part of our community, they’re family friends.
“She and her husband are a very big part of our community, they were just lovely people and were always smiling.
“She’s very friendly and he’s also really friendly.
“I was shocked (when I heard the news) – I didn’t want to believe it, I didn’t want it to be true.
“I was, I still am, in shock. I was really really sad, I still am very sad.
“The Sudanese community, not just in Bristol but across the UK, are shocked as well.
“This is something I have never heard of happening before in our community, never in my life.
“It’s beyond unbelievable.”
Ms Bashar said she felt various organisations, including the police, had let down the family, and the community wanted answers over how this happened.
Ahmed Abdelaal, another family friend, said: “We are all shocked. We don’t know why this has happened or what has happened.
“She was an amazing mum, we don’t know what led to this incident.”
Avon and Somerset Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct watchdog over prior contact.
A neighbour, who lives opposite the family but who asked not to be named, said: “They were lovely people, they were very friendly, I couldn’t say anything negative about them. It’s a proper community down here and they were a part of it.
“I’m shell-shocked, quite honestly, I never expected something this horrible would happen around here. I know these people, it’s stomach-churning.”
David Richards, another neighbour, said he had heard loud banging noises but was unable to see anything when he went out to check.
“The next day we found out all this had happened,” he said. “We have never had this sort of thing down here before, it’s usually a very quiet area. It’s unusual.”
