Deputies responding to a report of gunshots and a house fire in Elma found a body outside the burning home, and now sheriff's officials say they believe it was a homicide. Another body may be inside the home, officials said.
Meanwhile, a neighbor says it sounded like a gun battle erupted at the house before the fire. The neighbor said squatters had been staying at the home in recent months.
Firefighters and Gray Harbor County sheriff's deputies responded to the scene, a large home in the 100 block of Hicklin Road in Elma, at about 11 p.m. Tuesday after receiving a report of shots fired and a house fire, said Undersheriff Dave Pimentel.
When they arrived on scene, they found smoke and flames billowing from the home. A body was found outside.
Crews attacked the fire and brought it under control, but the gutted home is still too hot for detectives to enter and begin gathering evidence, Pimentel said.
Officials at first said the fire and death appeared suspicious, then later said they believed it was a homicide.
So far, investigators have not determined the cause of the fire or a cause of death for the deceased victim, Pimentel said. Investigators haven't said whether the victim is a man or a woman. No weapon has been recovered.