SOUDERTON, Pa. (AP) — Police have moved to a second home outside Philadelphia where they believe a man may have gone after killing people at multiple homes.
The man is suspected in as many as five deaths Monday morning at three different locations northwest of Philadelphia.
Police with armored vehicles and rifles have surrounded a home in Pennsburg after spending several hours at a home in nearby Souderton.
WPVI-TV reports that the man is suspected of killing a woman in Harleysville, two people in Lansdale and two more at the Souderton home.
Neighbors in Harleysville tell the Lansdale Reporter they awoke around 4 a.m. to the sounds of breaking glass and gunshots. They say the woman was the man's ex-wife. Neighbors say they'd been fighting over custody.
Officials are referring questions to the Montgomery County district attorney's office, which has yet to comment.
— EARLIER STORY BELOW —
SOUDERTON, Pa. (AP) — Police on Monday surrounded a home outside Philadelphia where they believe a suspect had barricaded himself after shootings at multiple homes.
The man was suspected of killing five people Monday morning at three different homes, police told WPVI-TV.
They say the man was suspected of killing a woman in Harleysville, where two bullet holes could be seen next to a second-floor window; two people in Lansdale; and two people in Souderton.
The communities are about four miles from each other in Philadelphia's northwestern suburbs.
Officials are referring questions to the Montgomery County district attorney's office, which did not immediately return messages left by The Associated Press.
Police said they believed the suspect was holed up at the Souderton shooting scene. SWAT teams with armored vehicles and rifles focused on a home on a block of brick-faced houses.
Towamencin Police Chief Tim Dickinson said officers saw movement in the home but were unsure if it was the suspect.
Several area school districts ordered students and teachers to shelter in place. The Souderton Area School District, citing police activity in Souderton and Harleysville, lifted the order after about two hours but said officials were monitoring the situation.
Copyright 2014 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)