Sheriff’s investigators described the deaths as domestic violence in nature while continuing to examine the shootings and the origin of the fire.
MAYWOOD, Calif. — A married couple and their young son were found dead with apparent gunshot wounds inside a bedroom after firefighters responded to a burning home in Maywood early Saturday, launching a homicide investigation into what authorities described as an apparent domestic violence incident.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and county firefighters responded at about 2:30 a.m. Sept. 5 to the 5000 block of East 61st Street, according to an updated Sheriff’s Department notice. Crews extinguished the fire and searched the residence for anyone inside. They discovered a man and woman, both described as being in their late 40s, and a boy younger than 10 in a bedroom. All three were pronounced dead at the scene.
The Sheriff’s Department said each of the three had apparent gunshot wounds and that a firearm was recovered at the scene. Officials identified the adults only as a married couple and said the boy was their biological son. Their names had not been publicly released as of Sunday morning. The department said there was no continuing threat to the surrounding community, but homicide detectives remained responsible for determining the sequence of events.
Lt. Eric Arias of the Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau told local reporters that the preliminary investigation indicated the father may have been the shooter. That assessment remained preliminary, and the department’s written public update did not give a final account of who fired the weapon or formally state the causes and manners of the three deaths. No suspect was being sought in connection with the shootings, according to local reports citing investigators.
Authorities also had not explained how the fire began or whether it was intentionally set. Investigators said the blaze started on the first floor of the two-story home. The three family members were found together in a bedroom after emergency crews brought the fire under control. Officials had not publicly established whether the fire occurred before or after the shootings or what role, if any, it played in the deaths.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department initially announced only that three people — two adults and one child — had been found dead during a response to the structure fire. An updated notice released later Saturday added that all three had apparent gunshot wounds, that the adults were married and that investigators viewed the circumstances as domestic violence in nature. The update said no additional information was available at that time.
Early reports differed on the child’s exact age. Some local news organizations described the boy as 10, while another report placed his age at about 6 or 7. The Sheriff’s Department’s updated written statement described him only as a male child younger than 10. With authorities yet to publicly identify the family, the broader age description remained the most firmly established official information.
A relative of the woman told NBC Los Angeles that another family member alerted him to the fire. He said he went to the residence and attempted to fight the flames with a garden hose before firefighters arrived. Authorities have not publicly released a full witness timeline or said what relatives and neighbors may have heard or seen before the fire was reported.
Firefighters had responded to what began as an emergency involving a burning residence before the discovery of the three bodies turned the scene into a homicide investigation. Deputies and firefighters remained at the property for hours as investigators examined the house and interviewed people in the area. The presence of a firearm and the apparent gunshot wounds became central parts of the investigation, but officials continued to describe their findings as preliminary.
The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner is responsible for formally identifying the dead and determining their official causes and manners of death. Those findings could clarify elements of the case that remained uncertain Sunday, including the precise circumstances of each death. Investigators also continued working to establish how the first-floor fire started and whether it was connected to the shootings.
As of Sunday, authorities had not announced a motive beyond describing the case as domestic violence in nature, and they had not released a final reconstruction of what occurred inside the home. Sheriff’s homicide detectives continued the investigation while officials awaited formal forensic findings on the three deaths and additional information about the origin of the fire.
Author note: Last updated September 6, 2026.