Authorities have said that the deaths of four family members who were found following a house fire were likely a case of murder-suicide.
The bodies of Levi Christenson, 38, 14-year-old sons Oliver and Felix, and seven-year-old Calvin, were found at the property in Grand Meadow,Minnesota, on Sunday.
The Mower County Sheriff’s office said that the Grand Meadow Fire Department and Grand Meadow Ambulance were called to the incident on First Street Northeast at 11.29am on the Sunday morning, where they saw smoke coming from the house.
The bodies of all four family members were found to have gunshot wounds. While the deaths of the three boys were ruled as homicide, Levi’s wounds were found to have been self-inflicted, People reports.
The cause of the fire remains unknown.
‘The nature of this tragic and inconceivable tragedy occurring in this close-knit small community has touched all parts of the community,’ said Mower County Sheriff Steven Sandvik.
‘We continue to ask that the privacy of all involved is respected during this extremely difficult time as the community comes together to help each other come to grips with this tragedy and work toward healing.’
He added that there was no wider danger to Grand Meadow, which is home to just over 1,000 people, and that no further information will be released while investigations are ongoing.
‘We are confident there is no danger to the community following this incident but need to complete the investigative process before definitive answers can be provided to many of the questions that remain unanswered,’ Sheriff Sandvik said.
Local paper the Star Tribune reported that a GoFundMe fundraiser has been started on behalf of the boys’ mother, Lauren Hosp, whose sons were described as ‘her entire world’.
organizer DeeDee Payne said: ‘Everything she did was rooted in the love she had for them. She was a truly spectacular mother who loved her boys beyond measure. Her love, dedication, and devotion to them were evident in everything she did.’
She added that the public should also keep the emergency responders in their thoughts, saying: ‘Beneath their uniforms are human beings who feel, hurt, and carry the emotional weight of what they encounter.’