Bodies of 6 family members recovered after Pennsylvania home went up in flames during shooting: DA
The bodies of six family members were recovered after a massive house fire engulfed a Pennsylvania residence where officers responding to an emergency call were met with gunfire, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said Friday.
The district attorney said, with time, they expect to identify the remains of the suspected shooter, Canh Le. The grandparents of the family told authorities that they believe that he killed his niece, Stollsteimer said. Investigators believe that he likely killed the other members of the Le family as well, he said.
The preliminary investigation suggests that the victims were shot with a rifle, and then the fire was set, Stollsteimer said.
Authorities said three adults and three children who lived in the house were inside during the shooting and subsequent fire, Stollsteimer told reporters during a press briefing on Thursday.
He said all six people are members of the Le family.
The family of Britni McLaughlin-Le confirmed to ABC News this week that the 37-year-old mother, her husband Xuoug Le, 40, and their three children were among those unaccounted for following the fire.
"Britni and Xuoug were a happily married couple for 17 years, loving and devoted parents to their three children, their extended family, and their beloved friends," the McLaughlin family said in a statement.
The three children -- identified by McLaughlin-Le's brother as Natalya, 17, Nakayla, 13, and Xavier, 10 -- "all excelled in academics, the arts, and sports," the family said.
"Our hearts are broken and we vow to cherish the memories of our loved ones and we will work to ensure that their legacies live on," the statement continued.
Authorities are working to understand what unfolded, Stollsteimer said.
While responding to the home Wednesday afternoon, officers were "immediately met by gunfire," Stollsteimer told reporters during a press briefing Wednesday. Two officers were shot, he said.
The two male officers, who were with the East Lansdowne and Lansdowne police departments, each sustained a single gunshot wound, Stollsteimer said. They were pulled from the scene to safety by responding officers from the Upper Darby Police Department, he said.
The injured officers are in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries, according to Stollsteimer. One officer is expected to be released from the hospital Thursday afternoon, he said. The second suffered a "slightly more serious wound" and remains hospitalized, he said.
During the incident, the house became engulfed in flames while shots were still being fired from the home, Stollsteimer said. It is unclear how the fire started.
A 911 caller reported that an 11-year-old girl had been shot at the residence in East Lansdowne, according to Stollsteimer. It is unclear if an 11-year-old had been shot, he said.
Stollsteimer said he believes a family member who was not in the home may have called 911, but it is unclear if that was the 911 that "triggered the response."
The grandparents of the children were on the scene, he said.
A neighbor, John White, told reporters at the scene he heard gunfire and sometime later, "13 or 15 more shots." He said he "got low" during the incident, and SWAT members later evacuated him from his home.
