Four young girls are recovering after police say they were attacked by a relative with a meat cleaver in Brooklyn.  

The girls, ages 8-16, were seriously injured. 

Details of the attack

Police say an 11-year-old girl called 911 just after 10 a.m. Sunday and told the dispatcher her uncle was stabbing her and her siblings. She didn't know her address, but dispatchers used location technology to find the apartment on 84th Street in Bensonhurst. 

Responding officers say they heard screams coming from inside and forced their way in and found a man standing near the door holding a bloody meat cleaver. The officers repeatedly ordered Longqian Chen, 49, to drop the knife, but police say he refused and moved towards them, and they opened fire. Chen was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. He has not yet been charged.

"The cops, they open the door, they didn't where the screaming was coming from," witness Abdel Kader said. "Told him two times drop the knife, drop the knife. Next thing you know, they shot him."    

The four girls, ages 8, 11, 13, and 16, suffered stab and slash wounds. They were rushed to Maimonides Medical Center in serious but stable condition. 

Family members told police Chen has a history of mental illness. 

Detectives are trying to determine what led up to the attack. Police sources say there was a previous mental health call to the house last year from someone fearing he would "kill everyone in the family." 

"It was so horrific and scary"

Neighbors said they're in shock and can't believe the violence happened next door.   

"It's surprising this happened, especially so close," a neighbor said. "I hope everything goes well for the girls."

"I think the mother, she's very active, very nice lady, but him, I don't see him a lot just, like, smoking," Kader said. 

They are on edge and struggling to understand what went wrong at the 84th Street home that belongs to a family they say recently moved into the area. 

"A bit nervous, never thought this would happen here," the neighbor said. 

A neighbor told CBS News New York he saw a young boy run out of the house trying to find help for the girls and he came to the boy's aid. He spoke to CBS News New York in Mandarin. 

"I realized that child was shaking and trembling. I saw police enter the house and come back out with a girl covered in blood. She appeared to be unconscious. I felt nervous and scared," he said. 

He tried to comfort the boy, giving him a jacket and some food until police arrived. 

"I didn't want him to see such a bloody scene, so I took him to my house. That's when police came out with a second girl also covered in blood. It was so horrific and scary," he said. 

City Councilmember Susan Zhuang spoke to family members and says the suspect was looking after his own kids and the children of his relatives. 

"Another relative's kids come to visit. He is babysitting every weekend," Zhuang said. "One boy and one girl are his own kids, and the other three are visiting."