February 09, 2024
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
The remains of the people killed in the East Lansdowne fire Wednesday have been recovered, investigators say. The home was set on fire after suspected gunman and arsonist Cahn Le, 43, opened fire on officers responding to a reported shooting.
The remains of six people have been recovered from the East Lansdowne home that was set on fire Wednesday during during a shootout that injured two police officers, the Delaware County District Attorney's Office said.
"We think we have found everybody," District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said Friday during a press conference. The remains have been sent to the medical examiner's office to be identified.
The alleged shooter was identified Thursday as 43-year-old Cahn Le, family members said in a statement shared with NBC10. Three adults and three children were inside the home when it was set on fire. Xuong Le, the suspected gunman's brother, and his wife, Britni McLaughlin-Le, are presumed to have died along with their three children — NaKayla, 13, NaTayla, 17, and Xavier, 10.
"Our hearts are broken and we vow to cherish the memories of our loved ones and we will work to ensure that their legacies live on," the family's statement said.
Police responded to the home at 58 Lewis Ave. at 3:45 p.m. Wednesday after receiving a report that a girl had been shot at the property. When officers arrived, they were immediately met with gunfire coming from within the house and two officers were hit, investigators said. About 15 minutes later, a fire began on the third floor of the property.
Stollsteimer said a rifle and a human torso were found together among the remains inside the home. Investigators have spoken with the suspected gunman's parents about possible motives, but a reason for the shooting remains unknown.
"They don't really have any idea," Stollsteimer said. "He just went haywire."
Authorities do not yet know whether the people inside the home were shot before the fire started.
"The medical examiner is going to try to determine how they died — if they died by gunfire or if they died by smoke inhalation or in burning," Stollsteimer said.
The clean-up will continue at the property, but Stollsteimer said he expects the criminal investigation will be closed.
"As long as the shooter who we believe started this whole tragic series of events is dead, it's a closed criminal matter," he said.
The injured officers were injured were identified as David Schiazza, 54, of the Lansdowne Police Department, and John Meehan, 44, of the East Lansdowne Police Department. Schiazza was shot in the leg and was released from Penn Presbyterian Hospital on Thursday. Meehan required lengthy surgery for his left arm and is expected to be released Friday.
