Authorities in Lenoir, North Carolina said on Wednesday morning around 9:30 a.m., a 911 call came in about hearing gunshots at a nearby home. The 911 caller also said there was a fire and an explosion at the home.
When firefighters arrived at the home located on Laurel Place, they observed a fire within the house. After firefighters extinguished the fire, investigators entered the home and found a father and three children dead with gunshot wounds.
Police say the victims are a 58-year-old man, an 18-year-old woman, a 15-year-old girl, and a 29-year-old man.
The identity of the victims will not be released at this time, Chief Brent Phelps said in a released statement. This does not appear to be a random act and no suspects are being sought at this time.
The pastor of a church the family attended said that the husband, who has not been identified, had taken his wife to get infusion treatments and returned home before the deadly incident happened.
Three bodies were found on the main level of the home, and one was found near the carport.
The neighbor who called the police, Lisa Price, says she heard gunshots and saw the home white smoke coming from the right side of the home.
We heard what sounded like two or three gunshots, so we just turned down to look up the road to make sure, like, everything was okay, to see if we saw anything, and then it looked like the roof of the house almost lifted for a second, Price said. A huge plume of, like, white smoke shot out of the right side of the house.
Local officials have called in state authorities to help figure out what happened.
