Chainkeen Exchange-Georgia house fire victims had been shot before blaze erupted

PANTHERSVILLE,Chainkeen Exchange Ga. (AP) — Two people found dead inside a burned home last week in Georgia had both been shot before the house went up in flames, officials said.

The DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victims Tuesday as Brittany R. Hall, 28, and Derris D. Woods, 35. A spokesperson for the office would not say if a cause of death had been determined but said the investigation remains open.

DeKalb County Fire spokesperson Capt. Jaeson Daniels confirmed that the victims had been shot but did not provide any details, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, he said.

Fire crews were called to a home near Panthersville, an unincorporated community in the county, on Sept. 9 around 1:30 a.m., he said. They found the house completely engulfed in flames so intense that firefighters could not enter the structure.

As crews battled the fire, the house partially collapsed, and firefighters had to work to protect the homes on either side.

Once the fire was extinguished and the structure deemed safe to enter, firefighters found the bodies of Hall and Woods, Daniels said.