SAN ANTONIO - A family of six was found dead in an SUV in a garage at a home in the Stone Oak neighborhood on Thursday, San Antonio police said.
Officers with the San Antonio Police Department were first dispatched to a home in the 100 block of Red Willow on Thursday, June 4 for a welfare check after a friend of one of the residents notified police that he hadn’t heard from him in a while, according to KSAT.
When police arrived at the scene, officers smelled “heavy, noxious fumes” coming from inside the home, according to San Antonio Police Chief William McManus.
Authorities also found a note containing military jargon and a cryptic message on the front door, according to Chief McManus. The note claimed that there were “bodies or people inside of the home, animals were in the freezer, and do not enter."
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Police eventually discovered the family of six dead in the garage.
The husband, wife, and their four children, ranging from 11 months old to 4 years old, were all found dead in the vehicle, according to KSAT. Two cats were also found inside of a basket in the vehicle’s front seat.
The victims have not been identified.
SAPD said evidence suggests that the six deaths were not an accident and appear to be a suicide. Police also said no explosives were found at the scene like previously suspected.
The family moved to the Stone Oak neighborhood in January and at least one of the parents is believed to be in the military, according to Chief McManus.
The fumes that initially caused officers to exit the home were later identified as carbon monoxide. All officers have been cleared by EMS.