Officials have reported that there are concerns that six to eight individuals may have lost their lives in a house fire that happened near Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Furthermore, two police officers who were responding to the fire were injured by gunshots that originated from inside the residence.
According to Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, it is believed that the person responsible for the shooting also started the fire in the house and was still inside. News footage depicted flames and smoke emerging from the two-story, wooden house.
The fire was blazing too strongly to go inside, so the officials stated that they would postpone searching for victims until Thursday, as reported by Stollsteimer to the press.
Police officers went to a house in East Lansdowne, a suburb near Philadelphia, after getting a call that an 11-year-old girl had been shot. As soon as they arrived, they started getting shot at. Stollsteimer said that when he and other high-ranking officials visited the officers in the hospital, they seemed to be doing fine and even gave them a thumbs up.
“It might be really bad news tomorrow,” Stollsteimer said. “We hope we’re mistaken, but we’re worried because these family members are missing, and there’s a chance they were in the house that was set on fire.”