Some of eight family members, including six children, found dead in Michigan house fire had been shot: police

Eight members of the same family, including six children, were found dead Friday inside a burning home in western Michigan, where investigators say at least some of the victims had been shot.

The Ottawa County Sheriff's Office is investigating the suspicious deaths after responding to a house fire in Grand Haven Township, about 25 miles west of Grand Rapids. The victims, who are believed to have all lived in the home, include two adults in their 40s and six children between the ages of 5 and 15.

Firefighters first responded to reports of the smell of smoke between 8:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. but were unable to locate a fire. They returned just before 11:45 a.m. after receiving reports of white smoke coming from a home on Riverside Trail.

After extinguishing the fire, emergency crews found the eight victims inside the home. At least some of them had suffered gunshot wounds, investigators later determined, though authorities have not said how many.

At a Friday news conference, Ottawa County Sheriff's Office Captain Jacob Sparks said investigators are still working to formally identify all of the victims and determine their official causes of death.

“It’s a complicated scene, a complex scene,” Sparks said, according to the Associated Press.

Investigators are not searching for any outside suspects and are investigating the possibility of a murder-suicide, as everyone believed to have lived in the home was found dead, Sparks said.

Sheriff's detectives are working with Michigan State Police arson investigators as the investigation continues pending autopsies.

The Independent has contacted the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office and Michigan State Police for comment.

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