TULSA, Oklahoma -- Tulsa police on Tuesday arrested a woman who they say bound and gagged her three daughters, stabbed the eldest repeatedly and set their house on fire.
Police said a patrol officer found 39-year-old Taheerah Ahmad around midday in a vehicle in downtown Tulsa. Ahmad was taken into custody and her 7-year-old daughter who had been reported missing was found safe, police said.
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Investigators said that following her arrest, Ahmad told them she became upset after observing two of her children reading a book. It was not immediately known what book they were reading, police said.
Ahmad was booked into the Tulsa County Jail on complaints of assault and battery with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, child abuse and first-degree arson.
Tulsa police officer Jeanne MacKenzie said earlier that the 7-year-old girl helped her 9-year-old sister escape Monday night, and the 9-year-old ran to a nearby house for help. MacKenzie told the Tulsa World that when authorities arrived, they found an 11-year-old girl with so many stab wounds that emergency responders "couldn't even count them." The house was on fire, and Ahmad and the youngest girl were missing.
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The middle child told police that their mother placed socks in their mouths, bound their hands with duct tape and began stabbing the eldest child, MacKenzie said.
The 11-year-old remained hospitalized Tuesday and police said she was unconscious and that her condition was "very severe."