KEY POINTS
- The bodies of two boys, aged nine and 11, have been found inside a home in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.
- A 42-year-old woman was taken to Westmead Hospital under police guard and has been arrested, police confirmed.
- A crime scene has been established and police are investigating.
The bodies of two children have been found inside a home in NSW and their mother is in hospital under police guard, in what has been called a "very tragic incident".
Officers were called to the home at Faulconbridge, in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, just before 1pm on Tuesday.
Speaking to media, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said officers were called to the address regarding concern for the welfare of a woman and two children.
They arrived to discover the bodies of two boys, aged nine and 11.
Superintendent John Nelson said police were contacted by "another occupant" who has access to the residence and assisted police. He confirmed this was the children's father.
A crime scene was established and police are investigating.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb and Superintendant John Nelson speak to the media after the boys were found dead at a home in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. Source: AAP / Dan Himbrechts
There was no ongoing threat to the community and police were not looking for anyone else.
'This is about as tragic as it gets'
"This is about as tragic as it gets for any police veteran, any emergency services that would turn up here," Nelson said on Tuesday afternoon.
"It's a very tragic scene. The Blue Mountains is a very peaceful, community-minded environment, so they would be genuinely shocked."
Nelson said the investigation is in its early stages, and declined to speculate about what had happened.
"What we do know is that there are no indications of any history with us in relation to this matter," he said.
Nelson said the mother is known to police for minor matters that would be inappropriate to discuss at this stage in the investigation.
When asked about the incident, Webb told reporters: "Things like this still cut to the core".
"What is not lost on me is that we've got officers here who have children this age," she said.
"There's support for all those involved in this very tragic incident."
