Detectives have urged a murder suspect to hand himself in following the deaths of three children after a house fire.
Police did not name the individual they want to trace in connection with the blaze in Worsley, Greater Manchester, but said: “He knows who he is and he should give himself up.”
Emergency services were called to the mid-terraced house in Jackson Street just before 5am on Monday.
A 14-year-old girl, named locally as Demi Pearson, was pronounced dead at the scene while an eight-year-old boy and seven-year-old girl later died in hospital.
The children’s 35-year-old mother, also named locally as Michelle Pearson, is in a serious condition in hospital while a fourth sibling, a three-year-old girl, is critically ill.
Two 16-year-old boys, who were also in the house, managed to free themselves before fire crews arrived.
Emergency services at the scene (Peter Byrne/PA)
Chief Superintendent Wayne Miller, of Greater Manchester Police, said: “The deaths of these three children is heart-breaking. Our thoughts are with their loved ones and the little girl and her mum who are in hospital fighting for their lives.
“We currently have specially trained officers with the family to help them through this devastating time.
“We have launched a murder investigation and have a suspect in mind who we are urgently seeking in relation to this attack. All I will say is – he knows who he is and he should give himself up.
“This is a fast-moving live investigation and we have a major investigation team with scores of dedicated detectives working tirelessly.
“I want to describe what this incident is. It’s the murder, using fire, of three children and we have a three-year-old girl fighting for her life who is seriously ill.
Tearful locals stood at the edges of cordons (Peter Byrne/PA)
“This will devastate this family forever and words cannot describe what they are going through. We need the public’s help to find the answers the family deserve.
“We want to make arrests as soon as possible and we appeal to local people to help us in this.”
Police confirmed there were “earlier incidents” at the address and said it had made a self-referral to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
A large police presence remained at the scene throughout the day as both ends of Jackson Street were cordoned off, with one end blocked by large steel barriers.
Tearful locals stood at the end of the cordons as they consoled each other with hugs and embraces.
One woman, who did not wish to be named, said she knew the mother of the family, naming her as Michelle Pearson.
She said: “I have known Michelle for years. The family have lived here for a long time. We are all just in shock.
“There has been trouble round here before but it’s more wannabe gangsters, teenage stuff.”
Demi was a pupil at Harrop Fold School in Salford, which featured in the Channel 4 documentary Educating Greater Manchester.
Head teacher Drew Povey said: “We are devastated at the tragic loss of life today in our community.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family involved.”