Authorities believe a father orchestrated a horrific murder-suicide that left a married couple and their young son dead inside a burning Los Angeles home.
Deputies and fire crews responded to the two-story residence on 61st Street East in Maywood around 2:25 a.m. Saturday.
After firefighters extinguished the flames, search crews located three dead bodies inside a bedroom.
The victims, who all suffered from gunshot wounds, included a man and a woman in their late 40s and a boy under the age of 10.
Investigators recovered a handgun at the scene, and a preliminary probe indicated that the father was the shooter.
All three of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department issued a statement clarifying the relationships of the victims inside the home, saying, “The two adults are married, and the child is their biological child.”
Officials have not yet released the identities of the deceased family members pending notifications to their relatives.
The sheriff’s department indicated that the fatal incident appears to be domestic violence in nature.
Detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau are leading the investigation and have urged anyone with relevant information to contact them at (323) 890-5500.