BROKEN ARROW, Okla. (AP) — The deaths of eight family members — including six children — found in a burning Oklahoma home are being investigated as a murder-suicide, with both adults considered suspects, authorities said Friday.
The children, who ranged in age from 1 to 13, were the victims, Broken Arrow Police Chief Brandon Berryhill said during a news conference. He did not provide their identities, ages or explain their relationships to one another except to say they were family members believed to be living in the home. Police have not responded to calls and questions sent by email.
The causes of death are still under investigation but Broken Arrow Fire Department Chief Jeremy Moore said it doesn’t appear that anyone died because of the fire. Guns were recovered from the home, the police chief said.
“To arrive on scene yesterday and to see the looks on our first responders’ and firefighters’ faces just absolutely broke my heart,” Moore said Friday.
Sara Abel, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the agency is assisting local police in tracing guns found in the home but she did not have any details about the type or number of firearms.
The fire was reported about 4 p.m. Thursday in a quiet residential area of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, 13 miles southeast of Tulsa.
Crews who responded found two adults dead in the front of the house with injuries that “appeared to be criminal in nature,” Moore said.
