Man arrested after allegedly attempting to drown children on Connecticut beach: police

Two children are recovering in an intensive care unit in Connecticut after police officers stopped their father from allegedly drowning the children on a West Haven beach early Saturday morning, investigators said.

A West Haven Police Department patrol officer spotted an SUV parked on Dawson Avenue Beach around 2:30 a.m. and heard screams coming from the water while examining the car, investigators said.

The officer found 41-year-old Romney Desronvil with two children in the water, police said.

“As the officer entered the water, the adult male carrying the children continued to drift away and yelled at officers to ‘stay back,'” West Haven police said in a statement. “At this point, it was obvious that the male … was intentionally drowning his children.”

Additional police officers and firefighters went into the water to help, moving up to 90 meters from the shore, police said.

Officers were able to separate the children from their father and bring them to shore to perform life-saving measures before taking them to hospital, investigators said.

Desronvil, a resident of Queens, New York, was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder and endangering persons, according to investigators.

Information about the suspect’s attorney was not immediately available.

This is a developing story, please check back later for updates.