Mom, 34, Allegedly Killed by the Father of Her Children During a Custody Swap After the Kids' Christmas Visit By Latoya Gayle

A mother is dead and the father of her children is recovering in the hospital after an attempted murder-suicide that took place during a custody swap following the kids’ Christmas visit, authorities said.

At around noon on Friday, Dec. 26, the 34-year-old woman arrived at a home in Upper Darby Township, Penn., to pick up the three children she shared with the man, according to ABC 6, NBC 10 and Fox 29, which cited local police.

The mother and the father, 45 — whose identities have not yet been shared publicly — began arguing over custody of the children when the man allegedly fatally shot the woman, then turning the gun on himself, the outlets reported.

Their children, ages six, four and one, were sitting inside a car at the time of the incident and witnessed the shooting, Timothy M. Bernhardt, the Superintendent of the Upper Darby Township Police, told PEOPLE.

The mother was found sitting in the driver’s seat with a gunshot wound when police arrived at the scene. She was removed from behind the steering wheel so authorities could attempt to perform life-saving measures, but she died.

The children’s father, meanwhile, was found wounded on a nearby sidewalk. He survived the shooting but is in a critical condition at a local hospital, per Bernhardt.

He will face charges if he recovers from his injuries, according to police, Fox 29 reported.

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Bernhardt confirmed a custody order was in place at the time of the shooting incident. He added that the three children had been visiting their father for Christmas.

“They got into some type of argument when the male got out a gun and fired two shots at the female. He got out of the vehicle and shot himself one time,” Bernhardt said, according to Fox 29.

The Superintendent of Police told PEOPLE that all three children “are safe and have been reunited with family” following the tragedy.

“Those children will live with this trauma for the rest of their lives. There is no excuse for this kind of violence, and the damage it causes is permanent,” Bernhardt said.

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“Please keep the children, the responding officers and the surviving family in your thoughts and prayers,” he added.