At least eight people were found dead in a burning house in Tulsa, Oklahoma, police said.
Broken Arrow police said they suspected the murders and did not believe there was an immediate danger to the public at this time.
The fire was reported at around 4pm Thursday in a residential area of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
Police spokesman Ethan Hutchins said a family of eight lived in the house. There were two adults and six children.
Mr. Hutchins claimed that the bodies had not been identified with certainty.
“Obviously this is a huge blow to Broken Arrow. It is a safe city. Things like that don’t happen every day on Broken Arrow, ”she said.
The Broken Arrow neighborhood where the alleged murders took place is located approximately 20 miles southeast of Tulsa. The tragic accident occurred in the 400 block of South Hickory.
An eyewitness, Caitlin Powers, was driving with her children when she saw a column of smoke rising from the house. The Associated Press quoted her as saying that “as I approached the house, I saw smoke billowing from the house, which probably looked like an attic.”
He said a man walked out the front door of a burning house and was seen dragging an unconscious woman.
“Her arms collapsed to the side,” Ms. Powers said.
“He was wearing very short shorts or underwear and a tight shirt,” the eyewitness said. He said the unresponsive woman was dark-skinned “and she probably looked like she was twenty.”
Meanwhile, local reports said the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was witnessing the investigation.
Police said they were continuing their investigation and questioning the neighbors.
Police have not yet identified the victims. In a press conference just before 10pm, he said the coroner was reviewing the condition of the deceased and the circumstances of his death.