Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania: Father and Two Children Found Dead Near Parking Garage as Police Investigate Murder-Suicide

A father and his two young children were found dead on Tuesday afternoon in Mt. Lebanon, a suburb south of Pittsburgh, and police are investigating the deaths as a murder-suicide.

Officers were called at about 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday, November 3, after three people were found unconscious in the roadway on Municipal Way, near Florida Avenue, behind the Mt. Lebanon Municipal Building and the parking garage beside it on the 700 block of Washington Road. First responders tried life-saving measures, including CPR, but all three were pronounced dead at the scene, Mt. Lebanon Police Chief Jason Haberman said at a briefing carried by WTAE.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office identified the three as Patrick Lynch, 42, his son James Lynch, 8, and his daughter Caroline Lynch, 6, all of Mt. Lebanon. The medical examiner confirmed the identifications to PEOPLE.

Police say it was not an accident

The Allegheny County Police Department said in a statement on Tuesday night that preliminary information suggests the incident was a murder-suicide, and that all three had injuries from an apparent fall. Police said there is no danger to the public.

Haberman told reporters that investigators are treating the deaths "not as an accident." He warned that the case would stay with the community for a long time. "There will be a significant amount of trauma associated with this event for the community," he said.

County police are helping Mt. Lebanon police with the investigation. As of Wednesday afternoon, the medical examiner's office had not released an official cause and manner of death for any of the three, PEOPLE reported. Police have not said how far the three fell, how each of them went over the edge of the garage, or what led up to the deaths.

Schools closed, memorial grows

The Mt. Lebanon School District closed Markham Elementary School and Washington Elementary School on Wednesday, November 4. "We are deeply saddened by the tragic news involving members of our Mt. Lebanon school community," the district said in a statement reported by WTAE. A day care in the township also closed for the day so staff could grieve and receive counseling, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

By Wednesday, a makeshift memorial of flowers had appeared in Mt. Lebanon for the children, CBS Pittsburgh reported.

Mt. Lebanon is a township in Allegheny County about five miles south of downtown Pittsburgh. The municipal building and the garage sit in the township's Uptown business district on Washington Road.

Police have asked anyone with information about the case to contact the Mt. Lebanon Police Department or the Allegheny County Police Department. The investigation is continuing.