Police investigate house fire that killed 3, including child, in Richmond, Missouri

Authorities in Ray County were investigating a residential fire in Richmond, Missouri, that killed three people, including a child, early Tuesday morning.

Firefighters were called to the blaze around 4:30 a.m. and arrived to find a home “fully engulfed” in the 1000 block of West Lexington Street, the Richmond Police Department said in a Facebook post on Tuesday evening. Richmond police detectives and Ray County Sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene of the fire to investigate.

The call brought firefighters from Richmond and nearby Lawson and Lexington.

The origin of the fire was not known on Tuesday. The Missouri State Fire Marshal’s Office was investigating, police said.

Details about the three fire victims were not released by police on Tuesday.

In a Facebook post, Richmond School District Superintendent Bryan Copple said a sixth grader had died Tuesday morning and resources were being made available to affected students. Friends and family said on social media that the child was killed in the blaze along with his father and his father’s girlfriend.

A GoFundMe was also created Tuesday seeking donations for the family. It had raised roughly $7,100 within the span of eight hours.