BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Authorities are investigating the deaths of eight people found Thursday in a burning home in Broken Arrow as a possible murder-suicide, according to police and KOKI-TV.
Firefighters responded to reports of a house on fire on South Hickory Avenue just after 4 p.m. Fire Chief Jeremy Moore said they saw smoke and fire coming from the back of a single-family house.
Inside, they found two adults dead in a front room with “significant injuries” that appeared to be “criminal in nature.” In the rear of the house, in a bedroom where the fire appeared to have originated, firefighters found six children between the ages of 1 and 13 dead.
“At this time, we do not believe that any of the victims died from the fire,” Moore said. “However, the final determination for the cause of death will be made by the medical examiner.”
Police Chief Brandon Berryhill said authorities are investigating the case as a murder-suicide, citing the places where the victims were found as suspicious. Authorities did not immediately speculate on possible causes of death for the victims due to the “extensive nature of the fire,” Berryhill said.
“I can tell you we recovered firearms from the home,” he said. “We’re still investigating exactly what happened, and until the medical examiner comes back and gives us specific findings, we’re not prepared to release that at this time.”
[ Police confirm 8 people dead following house fire in Oklahoma ]
Police did not identify the people found dead Thursday. Berryhill said authorities were still notifying next of kin on Friday.
It was not immediately clear how the fire started.
“At this time, it’s going to be under investigation,” Moore said. “We won’t have a determination until the conclusion of this investigation, and we send that evidence to the lab and look it over closely.”