A Chinese immigrant has been arrested on five counts of murder in the deaths of his cousin's wife and her four children in a late-night stabbing rampage in their Brooklyn home.

The New York Police Department said Sunday that 25-year-old Ming Don Chen has implicated himself in the deaths.

Two girls, 9-year-old Linda Zhuo and 7-year-old Amy Zhuo, were pronounced dead at the scene, along with the youngest child, 1-year-old William Zhuo. Their brother, 5-year-old Kevin Zhuo, and 37-year-old mother, Qiao Zhen Li, were taken to hospitals, where they also were pronounced dead.

Chief of Department Phil Banks says the victims "were cut and butchered with a kitchen knife."

Banks says Chen is a cousin of the children's father and had been staying at the home for the past week or so.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

A mother and her four young children were killed in a late-night stabbing rampage at their Brooklyn home, and a man has been taken into custody, police said Sunday.

Officers who arrived at the gruesome scene in the Sunset Park section late Saturday found all five victims unconscious and unresponsive, police said.

Two girls, 9-year-old Linda Zhuo and 7-year-old Amy Zhuo, were pronounced dead at the scene, along with the youngest child, 1-year-old William Zhuo. Their brother, 5-year-old Kevin Zhuo, and 37-year-old mother, Qiao Zhen Li, were taken to hospitals, where they also were pronounced dead.

A man identified by police as a person of interest has been taken into custody, but no charges had been filed as of Sunday afternoon. Police said a knife had been recovered at the scene.

Bob Madden, who lives nearby, was out walking his dog when he saw a man being escorted from the building by police. He was barefoot, wearing jeans, and "he was staring, he was expressionless," Madden said.

Yuan Gao, a cousin of the mother, said the man had recently moved to the area and had been staying with different people.

Fire department spokesman Jim Long said emergency workers responded just before 11 p.m. to a 911 call from a person stabbed at the residence in Sunset Park, a working-class neighborhood of adjoining two-story brick buildings with a large Chinese community.

Neighbor May Chan told the Daily News it was "heartbreaking" to learn of the deaths.

"I always see (the kids) running around here," Chan said. "They run around by my garage playing. They run up and down screaming."