Two off-duty Michigan police officers were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide.
The victims were identified as 22-year-old Maria Martin and 26-year-old Matthew Ethington II, the Livonia Police Department confirmed to Fox News.
Detroit Police Chief James White confirmed to ABC affilliate WXYZ Detroit on Monday that Martin and Ethington had been officers with his department for less than five years.
“Senseless tragedy. We’re going to find out exactly what happened as the investigation unfolds. Learn from it. Use what we learn to help some of our officers heal from this as well as prevent a tragedy like this going forward. We just don’t know what lead to this,” Chief White told the outlet.
The grim discovery was made at a residence on Six Mile and Farmington Road on Sunday after a concerned family member requested a welfare check. A baby, who is now in the care of a family member, was found unharmed in the home.
An autopsy determined that Martin died of multiple gunshot wounds, while Ethington suffered one single fatal shot.
It is unclear when the shooting took place, but Chief James described the incident as a “domestic situation.”
“Today is a sad day for our department,” he said during a press conference on Sunday, adding that a peer support team is available for officers struggling to cope with the circumstances. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.”
Chief James also said that his department is not participating in the Livonia Police investigation.
Meanwhile, Livonia Captain Gregory Yon told Fox 2 Detroit that his officers were on patrol when they responded to a call for a welfare check.
“They wanted a well-being check on residents at the house. When our officers entered, they discovered two people that were deceased,” he said.
