A community is in disbelief after a 6-year-old girl was found dead inside an apartment in the Bronx on Friday.

Police responded to a 911 call at the Forest Houses in Morrisania just before 4 a.m. Authorities say they discovered Jalayah Eason unconscious and unresponsive, with bruising to both her wrists and torso. 

What You Need To Know

  • Police responded to a 911 call at the Forest Houses in Morrisania just before 4 a.m. on Friday

  • Sources tell NY1 the girl's mother made the emergency call, and that an 8-year-old boy and 3-year-old girl were also in the apartment

  • The city's medical examiner will determine exactly how the girl died

  • Police say there are currently no arrests and that the investigation is ongoing

She was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

“How dare you kill a baby. I’m so heartbroken. That’s horrible,” said Liz, a neighbor who didn’t want to share her last name. “How dare you as a mom, as a dad, whoever you are! How dare you?”

”I’m shocked. I’m devastated,” said another neighbor, Shoshana Pinot. “You know, just to see a little kid and to know it happened here.”

Sources tell NY1 that Eason’s mother made the emergency call, and that an 8-year-old boy and 3-year-old girl were also in the apartment — which was in squalor and disarray. According to sources, when asked if his mother had previously hit him, the 8-year-old boy said yes.

“I always seen her with her kids,” said Ieshia Gilcrhist, a neighbor and mother. “She took them to school, bring them back. I’m on the PTA so I always see her. I didn’t expect her to have problems like that.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Administration of Children’s Services said, “The safety and well-being of New York City’s children is our top priority. We are investigating this case with the NYPD.”

The city's medical examiner will determine exactly how Eason died.

Police say there are currently no arrests and that the investigation is ongoing.