Mother And Her 2 Children Die After Falling From Parking Garage Near Ruggles T Station

Resources: You can reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) and the Samaritans Statewide Hotline at 1-877-870-HOPE (4673). The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).

A mother and her two young children died after apparently falling from a Boston parking garage on Christmas day.

District Attorney Rachael Rollins told Morning Edition's Bob Oakes Thursday morning that the three dead were a 40-year-old mother and her two children, ages 4 and 15 months.

"All things are indicating [death by suicide]," said Rollins. "Our investigation is showing that the two children fell first, and then the parent fell after."

Rollins said the scene was awful.

"If it had happened on any day it would be a tragedy, but it happened on Christmas day which, whether you celebrate that holiday or not, this is a sacred season in many cultures," she said.

Rollins said she hoped those who are struggling reach out for help, and that others reach out to their loved ones to check on them.

"The first responders that saw this, the husband that had to be told that this was what occurred, and the families that are impacted as a result of this, it's really just a devastating loss for all of us," she said.

Rollins also encouraged anyone who may have been a witness at the scene to seek help for that trauma.

News video Wednesday showed police looking at an SUV, with several doors wide open, parked on the top level of the parking garage, which is adjacent to the Ruggles MBTA rail station.

"Today is a tragedy," said Boston Police Commissioner William Gross, during an afternoon news conference Wednesday.

Gross asked anyone with information about the incident to contact police.

He said the victims were taken to an area hospital where they were pronounced dead. He said the medical examiner's office will determine the ultimate cause of death.

The investigation will be headed by the district attorney, with assistance from Boston Police, Boston Transit Police, and Northeastern University Police. The deaths occurred outside a garage that is owned by the school. The Boston Globe reports it's the same garage where a Boston College student leapt to his death earlier this year.

Northeastern officials said that earlier this year, the school put additional security staff in place to patrol three multi-level parking facilities on its Boston campus, including the Renaissance Park garage.

After Wednesday's incident, Northeastern says it's indefinitely blocked pedestrian and vehicle access to the top two floors of the Renaissance Park garage, and put 24-hour security in place to monitor the garage. The area will remain restricted, "until a permanent solution is implemented."

WBUR reporter Miriam Wasser contributed to this report.