Oklahoma woman, 3 kids dead in possible murder-suicide

A woman and three children were found dead in an Oklahoma home Thursday night in a possible murder-suicide that took place after an hours-long standoff, authorities said.

The investigation started around 4 p.m., local time. A police officer who was driving around the area saw a Roman candle firework coming from the garage of a house in Verdigris, a small town of around 5,500 people about 20 miles east of Tulsa.

“It was at that time that officer knew that there was something wrong, went to investigate, called for backup,” said Hunter McKee, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

Verdigris Police Chief Jack Shackleford said the officer found a woman locked in the garage, local television station KOKI reported. The woman told the officer she was being held hostage by another woman who had a gun. She also said there were children inside the house.

The woman was freed, and the officer called for reinforcement. Several law enforcement agencies then surrounded the home, including a SWAT team from the Cherokee Nation.

Around 7:30 p.m., following a three-hour standoff, officers entered the house after hearing no response from the inside. That’s when they found the four victims, dead from apparent gunshot wounds. Police said a handgun was involved.

The incident is being investigated as a murder-suicide, authorities said.

The names of the woman and the three children — who are believed to range in age from several months to around 11 years old — were not immediately released.

It’s unclear if the two women knew each other.

OSBI officials say there are no other suspects involved, but added the case will be challenging to investigate.

“When you’re talking about four individuals who are dead, three children, this is extremely difficult for everybody involved. Everybody that’s looking into this is trying to help best they can,” McKee said, according to Oklahoma’s KOTV.

With News Wire Services