6 Members of Texas Military Family, Pets Found Dead Inside Garage

Police tape in a stock photo. (Carl Ballou/Shutterstock)

Six members of a Texas military family, including four children, and their pets were found dead inside their home’s garage, police said.

Authorities in San Antonio told KENS5 that the children ranged from 11 months to 5 years old.

Police Chief William McManus told the outlet that officers temporarily evacuated several homes in a Stone Oak neighborhood on Thursday after they found a note on the front door saying the house was “booby-trapped” with possible explosive devices. The note was written in a “cryptic” manner, containing “military jargon,” he said, adding that the message also implied that there were bodies inside the house. “Do not enter,” it also warned.

McManus said officials used a drone and a robot to examine the inside of the home. They found what appeared to be potentially explosive materials.

More than 200 nearby homes were evacuated as a result, officials told the San Antonio Express-News.

“Police and Fire are evacuating the area in the 100 block of Red Willow for possible explosive materials. Please stay away from this area as first responders work this scene,” the San Antonio Police Department also wrote on Facebook.

According to WOAI-TV, authorities said the family, who was not named, is a military family. The father, a military service member, failed to show up to work, leading to a police welfare check.

Seven officers responded and smelled “a heavy, noxious fume coming from inside,” authorities said. McManus later said that odor was carbon monoxide.

“[It] kind of blew everybody back out the door,” McManus said.

Other details about the incident were not provided.