Fire in Hartland, Wisc.Photo: Scott Ash / Now News Group / USA Today Network/Sipa USA
Six family members whose bodies were found after a fire swept through their Wisconsin apartment building died in an apparent murder-suicide, police said Monday.
All six “had a single gunshot wound,” Hartland Police Chief Torin Misko said at a press conference Monday night,WISNreports.
Connor McKisick, the children’s father and stepfather, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Misko said, theMilwaukee Journal Sentinelreports.
Detectives found “evidence of an ignitable liquid” inside the family’s apartment “where it normally would not be located,” he said.
“This is a tragic incident for the family of the deceased, our first responders and the Hartland community,” Misko said.
The shocking deaths came to light Friday morning, when a fire tore through a four-family apartment building in the village of Hartland.
Firefighters who responded to reports about a fire at 5:11 a.m. worked tirelessly to extinguish the massive blaze and evacuate people from the building 700 block of Mansfield Court, theGreen Bay Press-Gazettereports.
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Ten residents were able to escape. But firefighters recovered the bodies of two adults and four children from one of the apartments.
On Sunday, the Hartland Police Department identified the deceased adults in a news release as Connor and Jessica McKisick. The deceased children were identified as a 14-year-old girl, a 12-year-old girl and and two 3-year-old boys.
Misko said the twins were the sons of Connor and Jessica.
Details about how and when each died are still under investigation, Misko said.
A friend of the girls set up aGoFundMe"to help Natalie’s family pay for her and her siblings' funerals."
Helping the Residents Who Lost Their Homes
The fire displaced three families, Village Administrator Ryan Bailey said at the press conference.
The village is collecting gift cards to help the families who are in desperate need of food and clothing.
Bailey said gift cards can be delivered to the second floor of Hartland Village Hall, 210 Cottonwood Ave., between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The Fox Bros. Piggly Wiggly, at 505 Cottonwood Ave., in Hartland, is also accepting donations, he said.
The following GoFundMe fundraisers have been started for the three families:
Father, mother and two sons:bit.ly/3gFY8O0
Mother and three kids:bit.ly/3eZMM79
A couple in the building:https://www.gofundme.com/f/hartland-fire
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
source: people.com
