Six family members, including three kids, were presumed dead when a suburban Philadelphia house burst into flames after two cops were hit by gunfire while responding to a reported shooting of a young girl, officials said.
The suspected 43-year-old gunman, who was among the half-dozen relatives dead, began firing inside the Lansdowne, Pa., home Wednesday after arguing with his 13-year-old niece in an upstairs bedroom, his mother told ABC 6.
During the fight, the alleged shooter, Canh Le, exclaimed he was going to get a gun, Canh’s mother Chin Le told the station, adding that she and her husband hurried the teen out of the home to safety before shots went off.
But Chin Le said her other son and his wife, Xuong and Britni Le, along with their three children — NaKayla, 13, NaTayla, 17, and Xavier, 10 — were killed.
Canh Lee is also dead, she said.
It’s unclear who was shot or the causes of the deaths, officials said. So far, a firearm and a charred human torso have been recovered from the home.
Two police officers were wounded Wednesday by gunfire from a suburban Philadelphia home that later became engulfed in flames, authorities said. ABC6
Officers immediately came under fire, and two were wounded, officials said. ABC6
Officials had been called to the home on a report that a child had been wounded by gunfire. ABC6
Flames were seen rising from the top level of the home soon after SWAT officers arrived. ABC6“It is our terrible fear that they may be inside that house when it was burned,” Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said during an earlier news conference.
Two police officers arrived at the home around 3:45 p.m. Wednesday after a 911 call that claimed a preteen girl had been shot, he said, noting it was unclear if a child was actually shot.
Responding cops immediately came under fire, with East Lansdowne Officer John Meehan, 44, suffering a gunshot wound to the arm while Lansdowne Police Officer David Schiazza, 54, was struck in the leg.
Their colleagues from Upper Darby, who also responded to the call, saved their lives by dragging them out of danger, he added, saying that both were expected to be “perfectly fine.”
About 15 minutes after the arrival of police, someone inside the home set it ablaze. Intense flames were initially seen rising from the roof and top floor of the three-story house before spreading to the lower floors.
Because the fire was so severe, officials might not figure out how it started, Stollsteimer said.
Chin Le told ABC 6 that she doesn’t know why her son had a gun, but that he had no history of mental illness.
Upper Darby Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt described a chaotic scene when officers from his department responded and were able to pull the two wounded officers to safety.
“All officers that were on scene initially were taking on fire, and then when they removed themselves from it, there was no more gunfire at that point,” Bernhardt said.
A retired public transit officer who lives nearby told the Delaware County Daily Times he heard a round of gunshots before police showed up.
“You heard that first shot, then it was a pause,” the Rev. Tracy Mallory said. “Then it was rapid shots, about four to six. Then it was about two more.”
Aerial footage shot by a WPVI-TV helicopter captured officers with ballistic shields dragging an officer down a sidewalk to an ambulance.
“It was very scary,” neighbor Derrick Richardson told the local station.
“My whole house was surrounded by police officers. Everybody had their guns drawn. Long rifles and the gunshots.”
With Post wires
