One person — possibly a child — was killed and two others were critically injured Thursday in an early morning “suspicious” house fire in Montebello, and police were working to determine if the blaze was possibly the result of domestic violence.
The fire erupted around 4:30 a.m. at a home in the 100 block of South Fifth Street, authorities said. Two people — a man and a woman — were taken to a hospital in critical condition, and crews found a third person dead inside the home, which was largely destroyed by the flames.
No details were released about the gender or age of the person who died, but neighbors told reporters at the scene three people lived in the home, two adults and one child.
Montebello Police Chief Luis Lopez said when officers arrived at the scene, they encountered an injured man in an agitated state, running from the home and yelling. He was one of the victims taken to a hospital in critical condition.
The relationship between the injured people and the person who died was not immediately known, but Lopez said the fire may have been the result of some type of domestic-violence dispute.
“We are investigating reports that this may be a domestic violence related incident and investigating how the persons involved in this fire are connected,” Lopez said. “Our investigators are trying to determine that by talking to witnesses, by talking to neighbors, by talking to family members.”
He said the fire itself was “of suspicious origins,” and arson investigators were working to identify the origin of the blaze.
He also said homicide detectives will “determine if this was an act of domestic violence or any other circumstances that led to this. And our investigators will also work chronologically backward to find out what happened before this fire between the persons involved to see if there’s a pinpoint in time to determine what actually was the catalyst for this incident.”