The victims were a father and his three daughters, according to information from Pennsylvania State Police reported by CBS Pittsburgh. Authorities were called to the home at approximately 3:30 a.m.

The deaths make the fire a major local public-safety and emergency-response event. The available reporting does not identify the victims by name, and no official identification was included in the source material.

What happened

The fire occurred in Newport Borough, in Perry County, Pennsylvania, on July 5, 2026. The reported location was the 100 block of North Front Street, and the response began at about 3:30 a.m.

CBS Pittsburgh attributed the incident information to a Pennsylvania State Police release. The report identified four deaths in total: one father and his three daughters.

For residents and nearby families, the confirmed information establishes a fatal residential fire involving a parent and three children. The source material does not report effects on nearby roads, businesses, schools, public services or other properties, so the broader practical impact on the community cannot be determined from the available reporting.

Cause and investigation status are not available

The reporting does not state where the fire began or what caused it. It does not establish whether the fire was accidental or intentional, and it provides no finding about the condition of the property or possible code violations.

The source material also does not state whether a fire investigation remains active, has concluded or has produced preliminary findings. No later recovery, assistance for surviving relatives or other affected residents, or code-enforcement action is reported.

Those gaps are important because the circumstances of the fire and any official investigation findings have not been established in the available information. The deaths alone do not support a conclusion about broader housing safety in Newport or Perry County.

What remains to be confirmed

Further reporting would need to confirm the victims’ identities, the fire’s cause and origin, the condition of the property, and the status or findings of any investigation. It would also need to establish whether surviving relatives or other affected residents received assistance.

The incident occurred July 5, 2026, at approximately 3:30 a.m. The available source material identifies no additional public deadline or next official step.

What police said happened

The incident began shortly before noon at a home on Ocean Crest Boulevard. Police responded to a 911 report of gunfire inside the house and requested the NYPD Emergency Service Unit, according to the reports.

As officers tried to establish communication with the suspect and prepared to enter the home, police said an explosion came from the residence. The explosion was followed by a fire.

Police said the suspect then emerged from the home carrying a shotgun and wearing a tactical vest. Officers repeatedly ordered him to drop the weapon, according to the police account. When he did not comply, officers opened fire and struck him.

Suspect taken to Jamaica Hospital

The man, identified in the reviewed reporting as 33-year-old Kegan Thomas, was taken into custody after officers provided medical aid. Reports described his condition at Jamaica Hospital as critical or critical but stable.

The NYPD’s 101st Precinct serves Far Rockaway and Bayswater. Nearby homes were evacuated during the emergency response, CBS New York reported.

Deaths and fire remain under investigation

Two people were found dead inside the home after the fire. The reviewed reports did not establish the victims’ identities, their relationship to the suspect or the causes of death through a confirmed official release.

Police said portions of the response were captured on officers’ body-worn cameras. Investigators were continuing to examine the deaths, the fire and the circumstances of the police shooting. The cause of the fire had not been established in the reviewed coverage.

No formal criminal charges were confirmed in the reviewed reports. Additional information could come from the NYPD, the city medical examiner’s office or court records as the investigations continue.

Sources

• CBS New York: Far Rockaway shooting and house fire
• NBC New York: Police shoot and wound armed suspect outside Far Rockaway home
• Spectrum News NY1: Two dead, man in custody after shooting and fire