3 children rescued from OKC standoff hadn't been to school in months, police say
Police released new details Tuesday on the living conditions of three children rescued from an Oklahoma City home after an eight-hour standoff
Police released new details Tuesday on the living conditions of three children rescued from an Oklahoma City home after an eight-hour standoff
Police released new details Tuesday on the living conditions of three children rescued from an Oklahoma City home after an eight-hour standoff
Police released new details Tuesday on the living conditions of three children rescued from an Oklahoma City home after an eight-hour standoff.
| MORE | Police: Standoff ends peacefully in northwest OKC after man refused to let kids leave home
The Oklahoma City Police Department arrested the father of the children on Monday night after he barricaded his door shut. He kept himself and those three children away from help for months.
"There was some children there that were residing in the home that family members hadn't seen or heard from in a few months. Hadn't been to school in a number of months," said Dillon Quirk with the Oklahoma City Police Department.
Children's toys sat outside a home on Northwest 11th Street. But inside, police said, were three kids who were out of school and locked inside one bedroom with their dad "for many months."
Police uncovered the scene Monday after being called to check on the welfare of the kids. That's when their dad wouldn't let anyone inside, and the Oklahoma City police tactical team had to be called.
"We believe they were in danger," Quirk said.
While Oklahoma City police didn't say who made the call to check on the three kids, Oklahoma City Public Schools told KOCO that 10 absences are truancy. But after a handful of absences, schools typically check in with students' families.
Police said it had been more than three months since the children saw a classroom.
OKCPS also shared its policy, which said teachers are mandatory reporters in cases of child abuse and neglect, saying if school employees suspect neglect with a child, they have to report it to DHS and local law enforcement.
The policy also said employees will be trained to identify abuse and neglect in students so they can take action.
KOCO won't be naming the suspect in the case to help protect the identity of the kids. The suspect is being held on three charges of child neglect and an outstanding warrant.
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