3d body found at scene of fire, shootings

Police are still unraveling a bizarre dispute that left three people dead in a burning Kensington rowhouse.

On Saturday, officers shot an unidentified man after responding to a fire in the 3300 block of Rand Street and finding another man fatally wounded, police said.

Yesterday, a woman's body was also found at the house, according to Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers.

Police could not confirm the gender of the victim, and no identity had been released as of late this morning.

Neighbors told firefighters and officers arriving around 11:30 a.m. Saturday that they had heard gunfire, said Lt. Ray Evers, a police spokesman.

The rescuers entered the house and found a man, shot in the head, lying at the base of a stairway, Evers said. Sources identified him as Leonard Reed, 41, apparently the house's occupant.

Another man appeared at the top of the stairs - the fire had started on the second floor - and threw objects at rescuers, Evers said. A piece of lumber hit a helmeted firefighter in the head, he said.

When the man brandished a gun, police officers fired several shots at him and retreated from the burning house, Evers said. "The situation was getting unsafe," he said.

Uncertain if the gunman still posed a threat, firefighters took nearly an hour to control the blaze, which caused part of the house to collapse.

"The firefighters couldn't enter the property," Deputy Commissioner Richard Ross said.

Officers later found the man's body on the second floor with gunshot wounds to the arm and midsection. The cause of death was undetermined, police said.

The gunman's relationship to Reed was also unclear.

"We're not sure who he was or if he was staying there," Evers said.

Contact staff writer Andrew Maykuth at 215-854-2947 or amaykuth@phillynews.com.