CLEVELAND — A woman and two children are confirmed dead in Cleveland’s South Broadway neighborhood close to where a man was found shot to death earlier Tuesday morning, according to the medical examiner.
Police and EMS responded at around 8 a.m. to an open field where a 30-year-old male victim was pronounced dead at the scene from a gunshot wound.
Officers canvassed the area where the 30-year-old man was found. Authorities forced entry into a nearby home where there was a smell of smoke coming from inside; accelerants were discovered.
Officers found two children and a female unresponsive.
Police said they have persons of interest and they are working to track down them down. The investigation is still early on and authorities are working to notify the next-of-kin. It is unknown the relation the deceased had with one another.
Chief Calvin Williams called this a "heinous" crime during a news conference Tuesday.
Cleveland City Councilman Tony Brancatelli called it "horrific."
Brancatelli described the neighborhood as one that was close, with neighbors engaged with one another and a strong block club.
Cleveland fire, including the arson unit, was on scene.
When the man's body was discovered this morning, it marked the fifth homicide and the 25th shooting in Cleveland since the Fourth of July.
The fatal shooting remains under investigation.
This story was originally published by Kaylyn Hlavaty on WEWS .
