Eight people, including six children and two adults, were found dead in a "suspicious" house fire in Grand Haven Township on Friday, and some of the victims had gunshot wounds, Capt. Jacob Sparks said.
Ottawa County deputies said they are investigating the 14900-block of Riverside Trail. Deputies with the Ottawa County sheriff's office and firefighters from the Grand Haven fire department were dispatched at about 11:40 a.m. after reports of a fire and smoke, and crews made entry into the smoke-filled home to battle the flames.
Police and fire authorities responded just before noon, and when they went inside they found the bodies, Sparks said at an evening news conference. "It's a complicated scene, a complex scene," he said.
Officials said the children were ages 5 to 15 but Sparks said investigators had not fully identified all the victims and did not have an official cause of death. A couple who identified themselves as the parents of the children's mother and grandparents of the six children told reporters they were declining interviews while awaiting confirmation from the Ottawa County medical examiner.
Investigators with the Michigan State Police arson team have joined the investigation, and Sparks said there was reason to believe the fire was intentionally set and that one theory is a murder-suicide. He said investigators were not looking for any suspects from outside the home and that everyone who lived in the home appeared to be deceased.
The home is located just outside the city of Grand Haven on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, and about 20 miles south of Muskegon. Grand Haven Township has a population of about 18,000 and is 25 miles west of Grand Rapids.
Neighbors have expressed grief for the family.