Authorities in a small Nebraska town are investigating a possible link between nearby crime scenes after four people were found dead at two homes Thursday morning.
First-responders in Laurel, Neb., discovered one body about 3 a.m. after an explosion was reported at a residence, said Nebraska State Patrol Col. John Bolduc.
While at that home, a second house fire was reported about three blocks away. Three others were found dead there, Bolduc said.
“Foul play is suspected in these deaths," he said, adding that fire investigators have determined that accelerants may have been used at both homes.
Investigators who examined the crime scenes think that gunfire played a part in both incidents, Nebraska State Patrol said in a news release.
The identities of the deceased were not released, and it was not clear what, if any, the relationship among them is.
Officials did not have anyone in custody and had not named any suspects by Thursday afternoon.
Autopsies will be conducted to determine how the four people died, Bolduc said.
“It is possible that our suspect or suspects received burn injuries during these incidents,” he said.
Officials did not have anyone in custody and had not named any suspects by Thursday afternoon.
Bolduc said he couldn’t say definitively that the crime scenes were connected, but said that it would be “a stretch to say there is no connection.”
Laurel, a city of about 1,000 residents, is about 130 miles northwest of Omaha.