Authorities: Shooting reported at Phoenix home on fire

Multiple police vehicles gathered near the scene of a deadly house fire and shooting near 47th Drive and Sunnyside Avenue in Phoenix.

Crump says 50-year-old Vic Buckner, 49-year-old Kimberly Buckner, 18-year-old Kaitlin Buckner and 6-year-old Emma Buckner all suffered gunshot wounds.

They knew of drug abuse in the past but they didn’t suspect it now and this was completely out of character for Alex Buckner and they didn’t see this coming.

Authorities believe Alex Buckner shot his mother, father and two sisters before dying in a confrontation with police.

First responders made a decision to build a brand-new response team on the fly, putting police officers in protective fire gear and giving them a crash course on entering a burning home. Some firefighters stood on the roof to extinguish flames bursting from the home.

Crump said first responding officers traded their guns for fire hoses and helped firefighters battle a blaze investigators believe was set by the suspect.

Four of the five people killed were adults, Phoenix Police Sgt. Trent Crump told the Associated Press.

Phoenix police have released the names of five family members who were killed Tuesday morning.

Crump said police were called to the scene at about 4:45 a.m. (0645 ET) after receiving a 911 call from a female inside the home about a shooting.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton spoke briefly at the scene of the shooting, praising the response of police and firefighters.

Tiffany Taylor, who lives down the block, said emergency lights and sirens woke her up at 4:30 a.m. She went outside, heard two popping noises, saw 15 police vehicles speed toward the house, heard more popping and smelled smoke, she said.

Deliz said police officers and firefirefighter do receive some cross training, but Crump described the fire-elated training officers get at the police academy as slim to none.

“We were approached by a lady firefighter who said, ‘There’s a live shooter, ‘ ” Strayhand said.

“This is what heroes look like”, he said of police and firefighters. Firefighters could not make entry right away to give aid to the victims because there was still an active shooter inside the house.

After the fire was extinguished, they found the other victims. The mayor called the murder of the family an “unbelievable tragedy” and added that “unspeakable violence” had happened inside the Phoenix home.