Teens found dead in burning Garner home were killed by their father, autopsy says
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Autopsy confirms Shannon Collins fatally shot sons, set fire, then killed self.
- Deputies responded to domestic call night before but made no arrests at scene.
- Autopsy shows son River died before home was intentionally burned.
The three people killed in a Wake County shooting in June died in a murder-suicide, a newly released autopsy report confirmed Tuesday.
Shannon Collins, 49, and his two sons, 13-year-old Jet and 15-year-old River, were found dead in their Rand Road home near Garner on June 23, The News & Observer previously reported. Authorities were initially called to the home for a report of a fire, and first responders discovered all three people and their two cats dead inside.
Officials would previously only say the fire appeared to have been intentionally set and that all three had been shot. But River’s autopsy report, released to The N&O on Tuesday, confirms Shannon Collins shot both boys before turning the gun on himself.
The report also clarifies the timeline of events preceding the deaths. Wake County deputies were called to the home about 6:30 p.m. the night before for a domestic violence incident, as The N&O previously reported.
Shannon Collins and his wife were going through a divorce at the time, according to the medical examiner’s investigation report released to The N&O. She called 911 that night to report domestic violence, but responding deputies “deemed there was not reason to arrest anyone” and instructed the couple to separate for the night.
The boys’ mother went to stay with a relative, but around 1 a.m., Shannon Collins had his wife involuntarily committed to a hospital, according to the autopsy report. She “only spent a few hours” there and was at the Wake County courthouse when a driver passing by the residence called 911 to report visible smoke about 9:30 a.m., the report states.
The autopsy report doesn’t estimate a time of death but states River was sleeping in bed when his father shot him twice in the head. No soot was found in his airways and he had a low concentration of carbon monoxide in his blood, indicating he likely was dead when the fire began, according to the report.
River appeared to have been shot with a .45 caliber handgun, and fire investigators found “clear streaks of flammable liquid” in the home, according to an investigative report from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Autopsy reports had yet to be released as of Tuesday afternoon for Jet and Shannon Collins.
This story was originally published August 5, 2025 at 4:06 PM.
