Four people were killed in two separate fires early Thursday morning in the small northeast Nebraska town of Laurel, and foul play is suspected, according to the Nebraska State Patrol.
At a news conference Thursday afternoon in the Cedar County town, Col. John Bolduc, superintendent of the state patrol, said authorities responded to an explosion at a home at 209 Elm St. at 3 a.m., where they found one person dead.
While crews were working to put out the fire, a second fire at a home at 503 Elm St. was reported. Three people were found dead at that location.
Authorities investigated two suspected crime scenes in Laurel on Thursday.
Bolduc said the state patrol is investigating the connection between the two fires. He asked anybody with information or security camera footage to contact the patrol at 402-479-4921.
Bolduc said witnesses saw a "silver sedan driven by a black male" leaving the town of Laurel, headed westbound on U.S. 20. Investigators discovered evidence of accelerants at the scenes and believe the suspect or suspects could have been burned in the incidents.
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The names of the four people who were killed were not released Thursday afternoon.
Officials with hazmat suits were observed walking toward the scene on Thursday morning. The community of fewer than 1,000 people is about 40 miles west of Sioux City, Iowa.
Douglas Furlich, who lives blocks away from both locations where fires reportedly broke out, said he heard an explosion call while listening to the police scanner as he watched TV around 3:30 a.m. Thursday.
Shortly after, he said, the town's sirens began to wail, signaling a fire or rescue call.
"I went and took a drive to see, and they still have — at the Third and Elm site — they still have that blocked off; you can't get within a half a block of it. And there's a blue tarp that has been erected around the portion of the yard."
This is a developing story. Stay with JournalStar.com for updates.
Most dangerous cities in Nebraska
5. Scottsbluff
The city of 15,862 had 53 violent crimes for a rate of 3.34 per 1,000 in 2019.
Photo: Gering Police Officer Jordan McBride talks with Scottsbluff Police Officer Michael Modeac as he puts up crime scene tape at the scene of an armed standoff in Scottsbluff in June 2021.
4. North Platte
With a population of 23,705 and 89 violent crimes, the city had a rate of 3.75 per 1,000.
Photo: Union Pacific train engines line up outside a service building in North Platte.
3. Lincoln
The Star City had a population of 291,128 with 1,115 violent crimes, a rate of 3.83 per 1,000.
Photo: Police in Lincoln investigate a shooting near the intersection of 14th and E streets in August 2019.
2. Grand Island
With a population of 51,821 and 236 violent crimes, the largest of the Tri Cities had a 2019 rate of 4.55 per 1,000 people.
Photo: Grand Island police and State Patrol personnel investigate after a body was found in a Grand Island yard in August 2020.
1. Omaha
In 2019, the state's largest city at 470,481 people had 2,833 violent crimes for a rate of 6.13 per 1,000.
Photo: Omaha police and University Police guard the entrance to the Nebraska Medicine Emergency room after an Omaha police officer was shot at Westroads Mall in March 2021.
