Abe Lepak reacts as he speaks to the media after five people were killed in a shooting, including the shooter, in his Orchards neighborhood in Vancouver, Wash., Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. The Clark County Sheriff’s Office said the deaths Sunday appeared to be a murder-suicide. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian via AP)
VANCOUVER, Washington — A man fatally shot his wife, their two adult daughters and his brother before killing himself at a Washington state home, authorities said Monday.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office said it was investigating the case as a murder-suicide.
Authorities received a call around 1 p.m. Sunday requesting a welfare check at a home in Vancouver, Washington. The person who requested the welfare check had received a text message from the suspected shooter indicating that he had “harmed others” at the home, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Sgt. Chris Skidmore, center, speaks to members of the media after five people were killed in a shooting, including the shooter, at a home in Orchards, Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, in. Vancouver, Wash. The Clark County Sheriff’s Office said the deaths Sunday appeared to be a murder-suicide. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian via AP)
The message was sent more than four hours before the call for a welfare check was made but the person who requested the welfare check didn’t see the message until later, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
The names and ages of the victims were not immediately released. Autopsies were pending.
Vancouver is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Portland, Oregon.
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