Barricaded suspect hospitalized hours after deadly double shooting, fire in East Mount Airy

Right now at 5, a tense, near 12-hour-long standoff in Fox Chase just coming to an end. Philadelphia police say an armed man was barricaded on a SEPTA bus, hiding from police as they investigate his alleged connection to a deadly double shooting and house fire in East Mount Airy. This is the news at 5. I'm Sheba Russell. A lot to unpack in this case here. That house fire starting early this morning along Williams Avenue, about two hours before the standoff with the suspect on the bus. Police say two women were found shot in the home. Both later died at the hospital. We've got team coverage for you tonight. Our Jennifer Joyce with more on that house fire and the women fatally shot. But first, our Kelly Rule has been at the scene of this standoff for hours now. So, Kelly, you've just been told that this standoff has ended. Sheba, I was just told that, and I actually just got an update seconds ago from some law enforcement sources, and they tell me that an individual that was armed on the SEPTA bus did shoot himself. Now, we do not know his condition at this hour, but that is what I am told, and that he was transported by ambulance from the scene. So we do not have an update on his condition, but we do have confirmation now from police that this is over and that this individual did attempt to harm himself. We are just not sure what his condition is. Police still here but the scene has kind of greatly de-escalated from where it was earlier and we're told they'll be clearing here momentarily. This is after hours and hours of a barricade situation today. Eerie, not seeing any traffic coming up and down this intersection that's for sure. Stephen Phillips with the Fox Chase Town Watch says this is unlike anything he's ever seen. Roads that lead to the intersection of Oxford Avenue and Ron Street shut down to traffic. Businesses closed for an armed man barricaded on a SEPTA bus, according to police. Fire crews, SEPTA transit police, and SWAT officers in tactical gear with long guns standing by for hours. Phillips says he started to get phone calls early this morning. A lot of activity was going on. We weren't sure what it was. Of course, safety's paramount. I'm kind of happy that today is a holiday, so a lot of the kids aren't in school. A lot of manpower for a situation, and as you can see, shutting down a lot of different things. It reverberates and the traffic here is usually very busy. A SEPTA spokesperson says there were two passengers on the bus when it got to the Fox chase loop early this morning. One passenger got off and another told the bus operator he was not getting off. The operator then called dispatch. Police say they responded and declared a barricade just before 6 a.m. The situation unfolding about two hours after police say crews responded to a home on the 8200 block of Williams Avenue for a fire. There they found two women shot to death. Family members at that scene tell Fox 29 the armed man on the bus is the adopted son and biological brother of the two women killed. I am like dumbfounded and I live in the Chestnut Hill area and I did see the incident about the two women. Donna Poley trying to get to work this morning with the roads around her salon closed. It's just like crazy. It's crazy. I've never seen Huntington Pike this quiet. Never. It's like a snow day. So again, we are learning from law enforcement sources right now that this armed individual on the SEPTA bus did shoot himself, was taken by ambulance. Unknown what his condition is at this time, but this barricade is over there wrapping up the scene. We should have more information at the coming hours, I would expect. Shiva. Kelly, just curious when this standoff began early this morning, was the driver able to get off the bus at that time? Yes. Yeah. The driver was able to call dispatch and get off the bus. He might not have even known at the time that this individual was armed. He just knew he was refusing to get off the bus. So he removed himself and called dispatch and was able to get up, get off. So there was a passenger on there as well. And that passenger got off. So nobody was on the bus at the time that this barricade, other than the armed individual, when this barricade started. All right, Kelly, thank you for the clarification. Appreciate it. We want to get out to Jennifer Joyce now in East Mount Airy. And Jenny, you've been at that scene of that house fire and deadly double shooting, speaking with neighbors. And I saw in one of your live reports that Mayor Parker even showed up. Yeah, so Mayor Parker was out here. She was walking the block with a group of community activists who have been out here for the last couple of hours, wanting, you know, believing that it's important to be out here in the wake of tragedy. It's usually good vibes up and down the block, so I'm shocked that something like this happened. People in this Mount Airy neighborhood stunned and saddened to learn that two of their neighbors were shot in their home and killed overnight. Philadelphia police say the fire department was responding to a fire at the home on the 8200 block of Williams Avenue when they discovered two women with gunshot wounds inside. Both women were transported to Einstein Medical Center where they were pronounced. It was devastating. I thought it was just a simple fire. I heard the fire alarms. I figured out I peeped out the window, got back in the bed. Then you heard thumping, loud thumps, I guess as they were entering the house. So at that point, I really couldn't go back to sleep. Norma Hart says at that point she walked outside and learned what happened. This is much worse than I thought it was. You know, I whispered a prayer when I thought it was just a fire. Let everybody be safe. Much more than that. Family members who showed up to the scene say one of the deceased is a 78-year-old woman. The other is her grown, adopted daughter. Family members tell us the shooter is the adopted son and brother of the deceased. family members say the man was recently released from jail and was living with his mom at her Williams Avenue home the victim's grandson says his grandmother's support never wavered and he's angry about what happened yeah she raised him up he went to jail she didn't kick him out she was sitting in the mail all type stuff he come out instead of him just being a nice wholesome young man and trying to get his life together he was a tough guy he would never did to grandma he would have did that to a lady that adopted you and And moved you out of a drug scene's house to this house? This nice house in Mount Airy? You had to go to a nice school? And in addition to community activists, we also saw police out here earlier in the day going door to door with resources for this community dealing with something so difficult. Police at this point have not released the identities of the two women who were killed. Back to you, Sheba. All right, hopefully more info to come as the night goes on here. Jenny, thank you.