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Officials release cause of death, timeline of events in East Lansdowne tragedy
Officials have released the cause of death for each family member killed in the East Lansdowne tragedy, along with a timeline of events that led to the deadly shooting and fire earlier this month.
EAST LANSDOWNE, Pa. - Tragedy struck a local community earlier this month when five members of one family were killed in a shooting that erupted into a devastating fire that burned their home to the ground.
The remains of the Mclaughlin-Le family, including the suspected gunman, were recovered after authorities spent two days sifting through the wreckage of the East Lansdowne house.
On Wednesday, the cause of death for each victim, along with a timeline of events that led to the deadly incident, were released during a morning press conference.
Officials say the tragedy began with an argument between a niece and her uncle inside the home on February 7.
The uncle, identified as Canh Le, then ran to his bedroom to retrieve his semi-automatic pistol.
Moments later, he opened fire on his family, fatally striking four of them, according to the DA's office.
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Meanwhile, the grandparents of the family called police, who say they could hear gunfire going off in the background.
Police rushed to the scene in the hopes of saving an 11-year-old they believed was shot inside the home.
They immediately came under fire as officials say Canh began firing from the third floor before setting the house on fire and taking his own life with his pistol.
Both officers were dragged to safety after being struck by gunfire. They were both released from the hospital days later, and are said to still be recovering.
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Flames burst from inside the home for several hours, forcing law enforcement to wait until it was deemed safe to execute the heartbreaking search the following day.
Officials say a total of eight people lived inside the house, including Canh, his parents, brother, sister-in-law, and their three children.
The victims have been identified as 40-year-old Xuong Le, his wife, 37-year-old Britni McLaughlin Le and their children, NaTalya, 17, NaKayla, 13 and Xavier, 10.
Officials say the children had to be identified by dental records, while the adults' identities were determined using an instant DNA system.
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A cause of death for each victim was released Wednesday after the remains were turned over to the medical examiner earlier this month.
Officials have determined that Xuong, Britni, NaTalya and NaKayla were all killed by gunfire. Xavier, the youngest child, died from smoke inhalation.
With the criminal investigation about to come to a close, officials say they will probably never know what sparked the argument that turned into a deadly shooting and fire.
"Cahn took the ‘why’ to his grave," District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said.
Stollsteimer added the surviving grandparents will have to endure the unspeakable heartache. "They came from South Vietnam after the fall of the South Vietnamese government. So, they came here as refugees to build a new life. And they did so in a beautiful community. And in one fell swoop for some unanswerable reason, everything that they held dear is now gone."