WEST HAVEN, Conn. (TCN) — A 41-year-old New York man was arrested over the weekend for allegedly attempting to drown his two young children in the ocean.
According to the West Haven Police Department, on Saturday, June 22, at approximately 2:30 a.m., an officer noticed a Nissan SUV parked on the beach. The officer made his way to the car, and as he got closer to the “commotion,” he “heard significant screaming taking place from the water.” The police officer reportedly got in the water, but the male moved farther away with the children and told him to “stay back.”
The police department said it was “obvious” that the man, Romney Desronvil, “was deliberately drowning his children.”
Additional officers and firefighters came to the scene and entered the water in a West Shore Fire Department boat to help rescue the kids. The first officer reportedly rescued the children and brought them to shore, where officials rendered lifesaving aid. Paramedics transported the young victims to the New Haven city line, where New Haven Police helped escort them to a hospital for treatment.
West Haven Police said both children remain in the ICU.
The New Haven Register reports Desronvil, who is from Queens, New York, was arrested on two counts of attempted murder and two counts of risk of injury.
The victims are both reportedly under the age of 3, and their mother came to Connecticut from New York following the incident.
West Haven Police Sgt. Patrick Buturla called the officers who noticed Desronvil’s car “guardian angels.”