The Clark County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit continues its investigation into an apparent murder-suicide in which five people were found deceased at a residence in Orchards, Sunday, Dec. 3.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) responded to the residence in the 11500 block of Northeast 92nd Street in the Orchards neighborhood of Vancouver at around 1 p.m. to conduct a welfare check.
According to new information from CCSO, deputies believe the suspected shooter was an adult male. The victims appear to be the suspect’s wife, their two adult daughters and the suspect’s adult brother.
A reporting party had requested CCSO check on their family after receiving a text message from a family member stating they had harmed others at the residence, a release by CCSO stated.
“The text message from the suspected shooter was sent to the reporting party more than four hours before that time but was not discovered by the reporting party until later in the day,” an updated news release stated. “The Sheriff's Office responded to the welfare check call once dispatch had been called.”
As previously reported, CCSO deputies arrived on scene and were unable to contact anyone at the residence.
“Based on the information about harm to others, possible firearm involvement and being unable to reach any of the family members in the home, patrol requested the assistance of the Southwest Washington Regional SWAT team,” the initial information stated.
At that time, deputies deployed an unmanned aircraft system into the home and found several people who appeared to be deceased. SWAT operators and Tactical Emergency Medical Support medics entered the residence and confirmed that five people were deceased inside.
The CCSO is making efforts to notify all next of kin, so names are not being released at this time, stated the update.
The Clark County Medical Examiner's Office will conduct autopsies of the deceased in the next several days. The Medical Examiner's Office will release the names of those involved.
The sheriff's office believes there is no threat to the public.
Further updates will be made as more information becomes available from the investigation, according to the updated news release.
