A tragedy took place in a Pennsylvania home just weeks before the Christmas holidays.
The two young sons of deputy sheriff Bryan Lukens were killed by a house fire on the morning of Wednesday, Dec. 13. Lukens works for the sheriff’s office in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
The two victims were identified as 11-year-old Bryan Jr. and 6-year-old Parker, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Our office is devastated to learn about this tragedy,” Montgomery County Sheriff Sean P. Kilkenny said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Lukens family as they grieve their losses.”
The post has been inundated with messages of condolences and prayers for Lukens’ family.
Lukens was sent to the Lehigh Valley Hospital with burn injuries but was expected to be released on Wednesday, according to the Facebook post from the department. His wife, Tracy Lukens, and 9-year-old daughter Sofia were safely released from another hospital as well.
Lukens, an Iraq War veteran made “every effort” to save his wife, three children, and dogs—but was only able to resue his wife and daughter, according to the GoFundMe page.
The page, set up just a day ago, has already garnered over $185,000 out of the $250k goal. The money will be used to help the family start anew.
As of this publication on Thursday, Dec. 14, there were no further details on the cause of the fire.
“Please pray, pray for this family, especially now around the holidays. ... This is a horrible tragedy,” neighbor Kim Munsell, who witnessed the flames from the home, told NBC Philadelphia.
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