An Oklahoma woman reportedly shot herself and her three children Thursday afternoon, according to local officials.

Police from the Verdigris Police Department (VPD), who responded to “fireworks outside a house” in Verdigris, arrived and found “an armed woman barricaded inside a house,” reports said on Friday. statement According to the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation (OSBI).

Officers began negotiations with Brandi McCaslin, 39, and the standoff lasted three hours, the statement said. After no response from the house, officers entered the home and “found Mr. McCaslin and three children dead inside. The children included a 10-month-old, a 6-year-old and an 11-year-old. McCaslin shot all three children and then turned the gun on himself.” (Related article: Man allegedly shot dead girlfriend and three children, then committed suicide)

The children have been identified as 9-month-old Billy, 6-year-old Bryce, and 11-year-old Noe. KJRH 2 News Oklahoma.

Authorities said the mother murdered three children, including a 10-month-old, before shooting herself in what appeared to be a triple-murder suicide. https://t.co/4ej0wkClro

— ABC News (@ABC) July 22, 2023

The VPD further said there was a hostage situation, with McCaslin reportedly taking a visiting woman’s cell phone and holding her at gunpoint before the murder-suicide. News 9 – Oklahoma City. The woman was reportedly visiting McCaslin’s home with one of McCaslin’s children and two of her own. The woman and her two children were then left locked in the house’s garage, from where they lit a Roman candle and brought it to the attention of police.

Reverend Josh Kerr, the pastor of the church McCaslin grew up in, was reportedly familiar with McCaslin and her mental health problems. “A lot of tragedies, family suicides, drug use, all the breakdowns we see in our communities all the time,” he said, according to a News9 report. While he and many others are shocked, angry and heartbroken, he added:[t]Empathy, heartfelt grief, and a certain amount of compassion are needed here too. “

Chief Jack Shackleford said he has many times addressed child welfare and domestic violence concerns at home. At the time of the incident, two custody cases involving the two fathers of McCaslin’s children were ongoing.

A joint OSBI-VPD investigation is ongoing, according to an OSBI statement.