Tennessee mother arrested after four children stabbed dead

July 2 (Reuters) - A Tennessee woman was in custody and expected to be charged on Saturday following the deaths by stabbing of her four children, all under the age of six, the sheriff's office said.

The four children were found shortly after noon on Friday in an apartment in southeast Shelby County, just outside Memphis, a spokesman said.

"The mother was at the scene. She was taken into custody and questioned. Charges are expected to be forthcoming this morning," Shelby County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Earle Farrell said by telephone.

The Commercial Appeal newspaper identified the mother as 29-year-old Shanynthia Gardner. Farrell was not able to confirm that information.

"It's a tragic scene and it has shocked us to our core," Sheriff Bill Oldham told reporters on Friday. He said the deaths were an "egregious act of evil and a tremendous loss." (Reporting by Fiona Ortiz in Chicago; Editing by Greg Mahlich)