The Erie County Coroner confirms a father and his two children died in a double murder-suicide and arson after a fire was reported Tuesday afternoon at a Greene Township home.

The father - identified by State Police as Richard Zimmer, 48 - did not show up to a custody hearing earlier in the day.

When family members went to check on him just after 2 p.m., they found heavy smoke coming from the home in the 9600 block of Sampson Rd., which is just south of Lake Pleasant Rd.

Zimmer shot his two children with his shotgun Monday evening, according to State Police. Coroner Lyell Cook confirmed the use of the shotgun and said the children were sleeping at the time of their murders.

Sometime Tuesday, Zimmer started multiple fires throughout the home then turned the gun on himself, troopers said. The fires were set after the kids were killed, the coroner told Erie News Now.

Cook ruled the deaths as a double murder-suicide.

State Police identified the children as a 13-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy. The Wattsburg Area School District released a statement about the deaths of the students Wednesday.