Woman and three children found dead in apparent murder-suicide

A woman and three children aged from a months-old baby to an 11-year-old were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide at a home in Oklahoma.

Police say that the bodies were discovered inside the property in the Tulsa suburb of Verdigris after a stand-off with law enforcement on Thursday evening.

The standoff began when a police officer driving along the street saw fireworks coming from inside the garage of a house, stated the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

“It was at that time that officer knew that there was something wrong, went to investigate, called for backup,” said spokesperson Hunter McKee.

When the officer went into the garage he found a Roman candle firework and a woman and two children locked inside it.

The woman told police she had taken another child to the property for a supervised visit and had been met by an armed woman who grabbed the child and locked her and the two children in the garage.

Following a three-hour standoff with no response from inside the house, officers entered the home and found the adult woman and three children dead from gunshot wounds. Investigators found a handgun at the scene.

The names of the victims are not being released at this stage.

“This is extremely difficult for everybody involved,” added Mr McKee.

Police Chief Jack Shackleford said that officers had previously been called to the home on several occasions on domestic and mental health calls, reported KOKI-TV.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.