(WJW) – A man was taken into police custody after investigators say he was caught trying to drown his children on a beach in Connecticut early Saturday morning.

A police officer was patrolling near Ocean Avenue and Dawson Avenue when he noticed an SUV on the beach just after 2:30 a.m. in West Haven, according to the police department.

As he walked closer, the officer reported hearing screams nearby. Investigators say the officer then noticed a man and two young children in the water.

According to West Haven police, as the officer stepped into the water, the man “continued to drift further away with the children all while screaming at the responding officer to ‘stay back.’”

Officers believed the man, later identified as 41-year-old Romney Desronvil of Queens, New York, was intentionally trying to drown the kids.

Other officers and firefighters with the West Shore Fire Department also got into the water to help. Investigators say the first officer on the scene was able to reach the children and Desronvil was arrested.

First responders performed life-saving measures on the children, who were taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. In a social media post Saturday morning, West Haven police said both kids were still in the ICU.

During a press conference Saturday afternoon, according to reports from the New Haven Register, the children, both under 3 years old, were improving but still in critical condition.

Investigators say Desronvil remains in police custody at this time. As reported by the New Haven Register, officials say he is expected to face two counts of attempted murder and two counts of risk of injury.

“It is without a doubt the swift response by our patrol officers saved the lives of these children,” West Haven police said on Facebook. “The communication and collaborative efforts made by the West Shore Fire Department and eventually the New Haven Police Department allowed for immediate medical aid and also the apprehension of Desronvil.”

The case remains under investigation at this time.

Maine’s housing market isn’t getting any better, and new numbers prove it.

The Portland Press Herald reported that the demand for single-family homes is still very high in Maine. That demand has pushed the average price up over seven percent to just under $400,000. People are paying that and more as closings are up for the fourth straight month in Maine.

The last record was set last year at $385,000 for the median price of a single-family home. The Portland Press Herald quotes Paul McKee, the association president and a broker with Keller Williams Realty in Portland,

Sellers have become more active in 2024. The 3,896 homes for sale in May were the highest number since August 2022 – 21 months ago – and the second-highest in 32-months – since September 2021. With more homes for sale, more transactions are happening.

Mainers are in a catch-22

Maine is a big state and there are many different real estate markets. In some markets in Maine, you might have some wiggle room to negotiate. But in many others, there simply aren’t enough homes on the market, and that puts bidding wars in place and it raises the median price. The average price for a home nationally (all housing types) was $419, 300, a new record and almost six percent higher than last year’s record price of $396,500.

There are Mainers who are trapped in the home they own right now. For reasons like expanding the family, or a new job at a different location – some Mainers simply can’t move. Sure, you may be able to get top dollar for your home, but you can’t move, because you can’t afford anything. Lawrence Yun, chief economist with the National Association of Realtors said this about mortgages,

The mortgage payment for a typical home today is more than double that of homes purchased before 2020. Still, first-time buyers in the market understand the long-term benefits of owning.

Everybody understands the benefits of owning! But if mortgages have ‘more than doubled’ and your salary hasn’t, that math does NOT add to being a homeowner. He did say that prices should calm down when more homes get on the market, but we continue to see an unfriendly housing market if you don’t have a lot of cash.

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — Independence Day is fast approaching so it’s time to find out where you can celebrate in and around North Andover. Area events include fireworks, festivals and other Fourth of July fun.

To help you fit it all in on your 4th of July calendar, Patch has put together a guide to what’s going on in North Andover and the surrounding areas.

Today, Americans celebrate the birth of a new nation with fireworks, parades, concerts, and family gatherings and barbecues. Celebrations, though, predate by centuries the designation of Independence Day as a federal holiday, which didn’t happen until 1941.

During the pivotal summer of 1776, the pre-Revolutionary celebrations honoring King George III’s birthday were replaced with mock funerals as a symbolic break from the crown.

It was an exciting time in Philadelphia — the Continental Congress voted to break from the crown and, two days later on July 4, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the original 13 colonies —New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland. Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia — to adopt the Declaration of Independence.

The first annual commemoration of the nation’s independence was in Philadelphia on July 4, 1777, while the Revolutionary War was ongoing. Fireworks have been part of Fourth of July festivities since the first celebration in Philadelphia.