Four people were killed in two homes in the small farm town of Laurel on Thursday, local authorities in the US state of Nebraska said, in two incidents that police are investigating as crimes.
The local police and fire department responded to the incident after a witness called to report what was described as an explosion followed by a fire, to find one of the victims.
A short time later, police received a report of a second fire in a house several streets away, where three more victims were found.
Media notice: NSP and partner agencies will provide an update on the investigation in Laurel, Nebraska at approximately 3:30 p.m. CT today. The media availability will be streamed on the NSP Facebook page.https://t.co/eJvwxQFqaK
— Nebraska State Patrol (@NEStatePatrol) August 4, 2022
The Nebraska State Patrol, a law enforcement agency, said at a news conference that both incidents were being investigated as criminal offenses.
Laurel is a small farming community located approximately 64 km west of Sioux City, Iowa.
????#BREAKING: Law enforcement are investigating multiple fatalities
Multiple authorities are responding to multiple fatalities with Multiple people reported seeing or hearing an explosion with businesses and other buildings are reportedly on lockdown pic.twitter.com/YrT1FLxlv5
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) August 4, 2022