PA Man Saeed Afshar ID’d As Victim In Friday Steelton Murder-Suicide Involving Children

DAUPHIN COUNTY, PA. (THECOUNT) — Grandfather, Jafar Afshar, killed his son, Saeed Afshar, and two grandchildren by setting their home on fire Friday as they slept above convenience store, Raja’s Quick Pick Mart in Steelton, Pennsylvania on Friday, officials said Tuesday.

Jafar Afshar, 67, was identified as the grandfather and his death was ruled a suicide, according to Dauphin County Coroner, who released new details in a press conference Tuesday morning.

Officials said Jafar killed his son Saeed Afshar, 36, and his two grandchildren, an 8-year-old boy, and a 5-year-old girl, by pouring accelerant heavily inside the home and lighting it. Their deaths were ruled homicide.

The causes of death were thermal burns and smoke inhalation for Saeed and his children. Jafar also died from smoke inhalation and thermal burns, officials said. No motive for the killings was announced at the news conference at the coroner’s office, reports Pennlive.

All four died in an apartment above the Raja’s Quick Pick Mart, located at, 441 S Front St in Steelton.

It’s unclear whether Saeed had full physical custody of the children, but regular customers of the store said they often saw and chatted with the men and children who lived above the store.

DEVELOPING::

Geo quick facts: Dauphin County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 268,100. The county seat and the largest city is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s state capital and tenth largest city – Wikipedia.