Father tried to drown 3 children in pond

A man faces attempted murder charges after two of his children were pulled from a Durham lake Sunday night, police said. Alan Tysheen Eugene Lassiter, 29, was charged with 3 counts of attempted murder. Officers responded to a 911 call around 9:15 p.m. Police said an off-duty sheriff’s deputy pulled the children from the pond. “But instead they turned their back on me… the whole system and tried to take my kids”. Police say Lassiter’s 7-year-old son had escaped and run for help.

Neighbors said they saw emergency personnel give the children CPR before they were taken to a local hospital.

Police say the girls remain hospitalized, with the 3-year-old girl in critical condition and the 5-year-old girl in stable condition.

Officers were dispatched at 2:11 a.m.to a shooting call, according to a police department news release.