A husband, wife and four small children were found dead in their garage Thursday after police conducting a welfare check encountered a “cryptic” letter and chemical odor at the home.
Police said the bodies of the family, who lived in the Far North Side neighborhood in San Antonio, and those of their two cats were discovered in the home’s garage in the 100 block of Red Willow, Police Chief William McManus told The Nation.
The San Antonio Police Department was called to the home Thursday morning about 10:30 after a man, who had been working remotely, did not call in to work as he usually would, according to NBC News. He also could not be reached by phone.
Police arrived to find the note on the front door, which seemed to indicate that a suicide had occurred, McManus told the media.
The note, which included military jargon, reportedly made authorities wary of entering the house. NBC affiliate WOAI reported earlier Thursday that McManus said the note on the front door was “very cryptic” and indicated bodies were inside and not to enter.
“It appears to be a suicide,” McManus said, adding the police were still “combing through the house.”
A robot was sent in to look for explosives instead of officers. No explosives were found.
Officers on scene detected a chemical odor that “kind of blew everybody back out the door,” McManus told reporters Thursday night.
Inside the garage, the family was found dead in the back of its sport utility vehicle. The pets were found in a basket in the front seat, McManus said.
The medical examiner will complete an investigation, McManus said.
In light of the note, nearby streets were evacuated, although an alert mistakenly alerted many more residents than intended, a fire official said.
The family members were not identified, but McManus said the husband and wife were in their mid-to-late 30s and the four children were between 11 months and 4 years old.
The military family had moved into the neighborhood in January, McManus said.
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