Sault police say two dead, gunshots fired on Goulais Avenue

Sault Ste. Marie police say two people are dead at the scene of a residential fire on Goulais Avenue.

"A victim was found in the driveway of a residence, taken to hospital, and was later pronounced deceased at hospital," police said Friday morning.

"Another victim was located in a residence that was on fire and was pronounced deceased at the scene. The cause of death of the two people remains under investigation, but police can confirm gunshots occurred."

“We do have, unfortunately, two people who have succumbed to injuries as a result of this incident. There were reports of gunfire which we are able to confirm, that there was gunfire during the incident. The cause of death for both the victims is still under investigation.” said Lincoln Louttit, manager of Corporate Communications, Planning and Research with the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service.

Police said they believe this to be an isolated incident "as the people involved are known to each other."

“Every investigation is different. Obviously we’ll do our best, detectives will do their best to determine a cause of death as soon as they can to provide some of that closure to the next of kin. But at this time I can’t give you a timeframe for when we’ll have that information,” added Louttit.

This story will be updated as more information comes available. 

Story updated with reports from the field by Mike McDonald.

Original story:

Emergency crews in Sault Ste. Marie are currently on the scene of a residential fire on Goulais Avenue.

"This is an active incident and community members are urged to avoid the area to allow first responders to focus on the scene," police said in a news release Friday morning.

Upon arrival at the fire, responders found an injured person in a driveway and they were taken to hospital.

"During the initial investigation it was determined the person was assaulted," police said.

"Officers are actively investigating and remain on scene as this is an active incident. Further details will be provided as they become available."