Six killed, including kids, in murder-suicide amid house fire in Tennessee, cops say
Three adults and three children were killed in a murder-suicide in a Tennessee home as the house went up in flames, the county sheriff said.
About 9 p.m on June 15, Marion County deputies responded to a home in Sequatchie for reports of a shooting, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation told McClatchy News in an email.
Deputies arrived to find the house on fire, the TBI said, and the fire department was called to the home.
“Once firefighters extinguished the flames, authorities found the remains of three adults and three children inside the home,” the TBI said. “Authorities also found a seventh individual, an adult, who sustained gunshot wounds in the incident and remains hospitalized in Chattanooga at this time.”
In an interview with WRCB, Marion County Sheriff Bo Burnett said the seventh individual had been shot three times.
His current condition has not been released.
Burnett said the shooting was a murder-suicide where a man, whom the TBI has not identified, showed up to the home with a handgun and began shooting the people inside.
“I heard gunshots and breaking glass,” a neighbor told WTVC.
Burnett told WTVC authorities were unsure how many of the six had been shot, but at least two individuals died from smoke inhalation after the house was set on fire.
The names of the deceased have not been released, but Burnett said the mother of the children and their grandmother were among the dead. The suspect is also deceased.
Burnett said the home belonged to the suspect’s estranged wife who had a protective order against him. He said deputies had been called to the home multiple times in the past month or so for domestic disputes.
Burnett also said he believed the mother of the children was there visiting the grandmother with her three children and did not live at the residence.
“This is one of the worst things I’ve seen. You hear about these things but this is one of the worst I’ve been involved in all my career as a law enforcement officer,” Burnett told WTVC.
The TBI and Burnett did not release a possible motive for the murder-suicide.
The TBI told McClatchy News the six bodies have been taken to Nashville for autopsies, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Sequatchie is about 30 miles west of Chattanooga.
Murder-suicide
Up to 600 murder-suicides happen each year, according to the FBI. They account for about 1,000 deaths a year.
“Although uncommon, such incidents vary widely in terms of the persons involved, how they are related, and where the crimes take place,” the FBI reported. “Usually, law enforcement personnel deal with murder-suicides involving two people in domestic settings or relationships.”
About 65% of murder-suicides involve intimate partners, officials said, and 81% happen in the home.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800 273-8255 or text the Crisis Text Line at 741741.
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