Including three brothers, and the wife of one of them.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Five family members were found dead inside a Phoenix, Arizon home Thursday after a suspected quarrel, local police reported.
Authorities have not revealed the names of the victims, but told the Associated Press three brothers, their mother, and one of the men’s wives were among the slain. NBC station KPNC learned only one weapon was used and police believe one of the victims shot the others before committing suicide.
Two other women and two children managed to escape the scene unharmed, reported Fox News.
One of the women who escaped told authorities that the shooting stemmed from a family dispute that fatally spiraled out of control, police revealed spokesman Sgt. Trent Crump. Witnesses who spoke to ABC said the fight may have been over the family’s limousine business.
“Our dispatcher could hear shots fired in the background while that call was coming in,” Crump said. “A caller had been able to escape the home at that point, get out and start to give us information.”
Crump said the family had origins in Morocco. During an hours-long standoff before the bodies were discovered, police used a megaphone to try to communicate with the home’s occupants, according to Fox. They addressed the family in Arabic.
The impasse came to an end when several SWAT teams surrounded the home. Officers proceeded to break through a through a glass door while two police robots entered the front of the home.
Neighbors told ABC they were saddened by the family’s loss but thankful no one else was hurt.
“It happened two doors down from us and it just blows your mind,” said neighbor Scott Pollack. “You just wonder what it takes in a person’s mind to escalate a situation to the point where they will take people’s lives.”