Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Four people were found fatally shot, execution-style, Monday in the basement of a home under renovation in Southwest Philadelphia, police said.
The unidentified two men and two women had gunshot wounds to the head, police said. They were pronounced them dead at 12:21 p.m.
"Sadly, all four of these individuals were executed -- there's no ifs, ands, or buts about it," police Commissioner Richard Ross said to reporters. "This is an absolutely evil thing to do ... There is no way in the world people should have met their demise this way."
They all appeared to be in their 50s and the men were believed to be cousins, Ross said.
On Monday morning, Ross said police were called to check on the welfare of people at the house.
Because their hands and feet were not bound or tied, police believe that the victims were led into the basement. In addition, there were no obvious signs of a struggle inside the home.
Ross said a neighbor reported hearing a couple of "bangs" around 10 or 11 p.m. Sunday, and assumed the sounds were related to the upstairs renovation.
The house was bought by $3 by Alice Jones on Aug. 19, 2009, according to property records.
"What troubles me as much as anything else, that in the United States of America, this type of gun violence persists," Ross said. "I just have to believe we have the wherewithal and the resources to do more than we're doing."
