A Philadelphia man allegedly killed his mother and sister, set their home ablaze and then barricaded himself inside a city bus during a standoff with police that lasted nearly 12 hours. The confrontation ended when he shot himself, according to police and local reports.
The violent episode began around 3:40 a.m. Monday, when emergency crews responded to a house fire in the Cedarbrook neighborhood and found two women dead inside, ABC 6 Action News reported.
Family members identified the victims as Sadie Turner and Gabby Turner. Philadelphia firefighters removed the women from the burning home, and both had suffered gunshot wounds to the head, police said.
Investigators believe Lonnie Turner, identified by relatives as Sadie’s adopted son and Gabby’s biological brother, shot the women inside the home they shared before starting a fire in the kitchen.
Just over an hour later, at about 5 a.m., police received a report of an armed man aboard a Route 18 SEPTA bus in the Fox Run neighborhood.
“[T]he man told the bus driver that he was not getting off the vehicle and to call the police,” Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority spokesperson Andrew Busch told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“The other passenger exited the bus without incident and the operator did as well after calling for assistance,” Busch said.
The man, later identified as Lonnie Turner, allegedly told the driver that he had shot two people earlier that morning, according to Action News.
When officers arrived, Turner was armed with a handgun and had barricaded himself inside the now-empty bus. He refused repeated orders to leave the vehicle.
Police spent nearly 12 hours trying to persuade him to surrender, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
Shortly before 5 p.m., Turner shot himself. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Relatives told Action News that Turner had been released from jail only a few months earlier.
Authorities have not said what triggered the violence. The Philadelphia Police Department said the investigation remains ongoing.
The deadly incident occurred days after what officials described as a “brutal, senseless, horrific” ambush that left one Philadelphia police officer dead and another seriously injured.
