UPDATED: 9:45 p.m.
EAST LANSDOWNE, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Authorities in Delaware County say the have recovered three bodies from the wreckage of Wednesday’s house fire in East Lansdowne. Police suspect one of the bodies is that of a man they say killed his brother and his family before the house burst into flames.
Six members of the Le family — Xuong Le, his wife Brittni McLaughlin Le, their three children and his brother Cahn Van Le — are presumed dead by officials. Two grandparents who also lived in the home were outside during the shooting and fire.
Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer says the bodies were pulled Thursday from the charred wreckage of the Le residence on Lewis Avenue between Pembroke and East Baltimore avenues. One of the bodies, he says, is suspected to be a child, while the other is suspected to be Cahn Van Le. A partially melted rifle was also recovered from the scene.
Stollsteimer says investigators expect to recover the remaining bodies on Friday.
It was just before 4 p.m. Wednesday when officers from Upper Darby, East Lansdowne, and Lansdowne responded to a call that an 11-year-old girl had been shot inside the home. Officers were met with gunfire upon arriving on scene. Moments later, the house burst into flames.
Two officers — David Schiazza, 54, of the Lansdowne Police Department and John Meehan, 44, of the East Lansdowne Police Department — were shot and wounded at the scene.
Police suspect 43-year-old Cahn may have opened fire on his brother's family before the fire started. Stollsteimer says it isn’t yet clear how the fire started, or whether the victims died before or after it began.
"We're on our way to hopefully giving the families closure," he told reporters, "and then we'll get to the rest of the investigation to determine when they died and how they died, if it can be determined forensically."
Remembering the lives lost
As crews worked to stabilize the burned-out three-story home Thursday evening, a classmate of one of the children visited the scene. Carrying a handwritten sign and a basket of stuffed animals, the child attempted to go underneath the caution tape in order to set up her makeshift memorial.
The sign read, “Remembering the innocent lives lost on 2/7/2024,” before listing the names of the five immediate Le family members. “Rest in paradise,” it continued, along with a Bible verse, Psalm 34:18.
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Wounded officer released from hospital
Lining the driveway to Penn Presbyterian’s trauma center, law enforcement officers from across the area stood side by side, then erupted in applause as Schiazza was wheeled outside.
Schiazza and Meehan were part of the initial police response to the shooting at the Le home. Schiazza, who was shot in the leg, was released from Penn Presbyterian Hospital Thursday afternoon, while Meehan needed a lengthy surgery after being shot in the arm.
“Officer Meehan is still in the hospital,” said Stollsteimer. “He has suffered a slightly more serious wound. We are hoping he gets released either later today or early tomorrow. But we’re really at the doctors wishes on that.”
Both men are 22-year veterans of their respective departments.
Upper Darby Superintendent of Police Tim Bernhardt said on Wednesday some of his officers used ballistic shields to reach the injured officers and drag them to safety.