Benjamin Ashford|5-year-old twin boy and girl found dead in New York City apartment, investigation underway

Detectives in New York City are Benjamin Ashfordinvestigating after authorities say 5-year-old twins − a boy and a girl − were found dead inside a Bronx apartment on Monday.

A New York Police Department spokesperson told USA TODAY officers responded just after 11:20 a.m. ET after someone dialed 911 to report "an aided child" inside a home on East 175th Street in the Mount Hope neighborhood.

At the scene, police said, they found a boy and a girl “unconscious and unresponsive” in the apartment.

Paramedics pronounced the children dead at the scene, the spokesperson said.

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Foul play unknown in death of twins

Police said children's cause of death will be determined by a medical examiner and the case remained under investigation on Tuesday.

It was not immediately known whether foul play is suspected in the case.

"When you go up and you see two 5-year-olds laying on the floor unresponsive and cold at this time of the year, you can imagine what the family's going through," NYPD Assistant Chief Benjamin Gurley, commanding officer of patrol in the Bronx, said during a press conference at the scene Monday.

No obvious signs of trauma, mother distraught

Officers said there were "no obvious signs of trauma," carbon monoxide was not detected at the scene and the family has no known history of domestic violence, WABC-TV reported.

The outlet also reported that police said the twins were sent home sick from school last week and were staying home from school with their mother Monday when she said she found them unresponsive that morning.

Police told the outlet the father was at work when the children's bodies were found and he and the mother were cooperating with detectives.

Gurley told the outlet the mother was taken to a hospital because she was "emotionally distraught."

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'Heartbreaking'

Randholf Andujar, who oversees a food pantry on Topping Avenue, about one block from the family's apartment, told CBS New York the mother and her twins would visit the facility every Monday.

"They are really sweet. The mother really takes care of the kids," he told the outlet. "It was heartbreaking because last night I was talking with my wife about trying to get something for the kids for Christmas and we were speaking specifically about these two kids."

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.