ALBUQUERQUE, NM (KRQE) – Police have confirmed that three young children were murdered, their mother clinging to life, after a man she knew broke into their house and ambushed them with a gun when they got home.

The Albuquerque Police Department and the mayor held a news conference Tuesday about this tragic crime. Police Chief Gorden Eden says a 45-year-old man broke into the family’s Four Hills home Monday night and waited for the mom and her children to come home.

A 5-year-old boy, 6-year-old girl and 9-year-old boy were killed, according to police. The mom crawled for help to a neighbor’s house and is now in critical condition.

Police are not releasing the names of the adults of children involved, saying it is still to early into the investigation and that some family still has not been notified.

Officers were dispatched to a home on Stagecoach Ln Monday night around 6:30 p.m.

APD says four people were rushed to UNM Hospital. It was a very active scene late into the night as police had portion of the street blocked off while detectives focused on two homes in the area.

Neighbors say they typically didn’t see children at the home, but KRQE News 13 crews spotted toys and playsets in the backyard.

Police Chief Gorden Eden also did not release the name of the shooter, only to say that he had a brief relationship with the mother. According to police, he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Police also say the biological dad of the three children is asking police not to release the names of the kids. Police have yet to speak the mom.