The victims, two men and two women, were each shot once in the head and were discovered by police conducting a wellness check shortly after noon Monday.
Four people were found shot dead, execution-style, in the basement of a Philadelphia home, authorities said.
The victims, two men and two women, were each shot once in the head and were discovered by police conducting a wellness check shortly after noon Monday, CBS Philadelphia reported.
A relative of one of the victims called the cops after not hearing from them. That person found the door to the home in west Philadelphia slightly ajar, but reportedly thought nothing of it because of ongoing work at the property.
Neighbors reportedly told police they heard three to four bangs Sunday night, but attributed to the noises to the construction and didn’t call the police. The victims were all pronounced dead at the scene.
Two of the victims have been identified as a 31-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman. The other male victim is between 20 and 30 years old, while the other woman is between 30 and 40 years old. It is believed the male victims are cousins and that all four lived in the home, WXTF-TV reported.
“Sadly, all four of these individuals were executed; there’s no ifs, ands or buts about it,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross told reporters. “This is an absolutely evil thing to do. There is no way in the world people should have met their demise this way.”
A motive in the killings was not immediately clear. No arrests have yet been made and no weapon has been recovered.
Officials said they are interviewing the victims’ families and potential witnesses, as well as checking for surveillance footage in the area to determine who was nearby between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., when the bangs were said to be heard.
“This block here is normally known as nonviolent,” neighbor Lucille Walker told CBS Philadelphia. “I’m really surprised to come home and hear this.”
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