Pennsylvania authorities announced that the man suspected in a spree killing that left six people dead earlier this week is dead.
A law enforcement source and the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office told NBC Philadelphia that suspected killer Bradley Stone was found dead in woods near his home Tuesday afternoon in an apparent suicide.
Stone recorded a message on a phone that was found near his body, police told the station. In a news conference Tuesday, Montgomery County D.A. Risa Ferman said that Stone appears to have died of "cutting wounds that were self-inflicted."
Ferman would not confirm reports that Stone killed himself with a sword. However, she said that several of the victims in the case had sustained cutting wounds, some in addition to being shot. Ferman said a coroner's report is forthcoming.
Earlier today, WPVI quoted an unnamed source that said cops were "more likely to find a body than not" in the hunt for Stone, who is accused of killing six people in Montgomery County on Monday.
Police intensified their search around the suspect's hometown of Pennsburg on Tuesday, and worked on the assumption that Stone was alive, armed and dangerous.
If he is not found in Pennsburg, police will begin a search of wooded areas around the Green Lane reservoir. The thinking is Stone could either be holed up there or went there to take his own life.
Pennsburg Borough Emergency Management announced that police will be performing tactical sweeps of the area on Tuesday. The agency asked residents to stay inside during the heightened police activity.
Pennsburg Emergency Management Coordinator Cody Belmont told the Huffington Post in a phone interview Tuesday that the agency could not confirm or deny Stone's status or location.
Requests for comment from the Montgomery County D.A.'s office were not returned by time of writing. But the office tweeted:
Victims in the fatal shootings include Stone's ex-wife and five members of her family, according to NBC News.
Those who knew the 35-year-old suspect described him as an odd person who had problems with his ex-wife.
“Honestly, you can say anyone’s crazy, but you wouldn’t think that they’d go and kill their family,” Adam Perone, who served in the Marines with Stone, told NBC News.
Stone was last seen fleeing his ex-wife's apartment early Monday with his two children. On Tuesday, Ferman said that she believes the ongoing custody dispute between Stone and his wife played a role in the violent spree killing.
This is a developing story.