8 found dead after house fire in Oklahoma; homicide feared

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — Eight people were found dead in suspected homicides Thursday after a fire was extinguished at a Tulsa-area house, police said.

The fire was reported about 4 p.m. Thursday in a quiet residential area of Broken Arrow, 13 miles southeast of Tulsa.

Broken Arrow police said the fire and the deaths were being investigated as homicides, but they didn’t believe an immediate threat to the public existed.

Police spokesman Ethan Hutchins said the scene was complex “with a lot of moving parts,” so no other information was being released immediately.

“Understandably, this is a shock to Broken Arrow. It’s a safe city. Broken Arrow doesn’t have this kind of situation every day,” Hutchins said.

Broken Arrow is Tulsa’s biggest suburb, with almost 115,000 residents.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was assisting in the investigation, he said.