Mother in custody after 5 children found dead

HOUSTON, Texas (CNN) -- A mother is in custody after police went to her home and found her five children dead, authorities said Wednesday.

Police believe the children, ranging in age from 6 months to 7 years old, were drowned in a bathtub.

Officers went to the home after getting a call from the woman shortly before 10 a.m. (11 a.m. EDT), saying "she needed police at the location," said Houston Police spokesman Robert Hurst.

"She did not say why," he said.

Hurst said that when officers went to the home, located in the Houston suburb of Clear Lake about 25 miles south of the city, the woman confessed to killing her children.

"The woman was breathing rather heavily and said 'I killed my children,'" said police spokesman John Cannon. Cannon said all of the responding officers are fathers and were "distraught" over the incident.

"It appears -- but it is still under investigation -- that all five children were drowned in the bathtub," Hurst said.

He said a 6-month-old girl was found dead in the bathroom and four boys -- ages 2 to 7 -- were found dead on a bed in a bedroom.

Hurst said the father was at work and has since returned to the home. The woman, whose name was not immediately released, is in custody, but no formal charges have been filed at this time.

Clear Lake is a suburb of Houston that falls under the jurisdiction of the Houston Police Department.