SILVER SPRING, Md. -- Montgomery County police have charged a man with killing his two sons Monday morning in Silver Spring.

Two people were found dead inside a townhouse at about 9 a.m. in the 14900 block of Dinsdale Drive after a call about a domestic dispute, according to a police spokeswoman. News4's Megan McGrath reported that the victims appeared to have been shot to death. The exact cause of death will not be determined until after the medical examiner completes an autopsy.

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Police said Thurman Herring surrendered to police in Rockville after making the domestic dispute call. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of using a handgun during a felony in the deaths of his sons Justin Demetrius Herring, 20, and Jeremy Herring, 18.

Residents described the Herrings as "the perfect neighbors." They said they never caused any trouble in the neighborhood. They said they could not believe the father could harm his sons, let alone kill them.

"I don't believe it," neighbor William Berry said. "He was just -- he'd greet you with a hug and a handshake."

Another neighbor, Jeffrey Harris, said he was stunned.

"His kids were the best kids in the neighborhood," he said. "They did everything for everybody."

Jeremy Herring was a basketball player and 2007 graduate of John F. Kennedy High School. His older brother Justin called himself "Choirboy" on his MySpace page. In his last updates made Sunday, he listed his mood as "depressed" but gave no explanation why.

Drawn by text message and cell phone, friends of the two young men gathered across the street. They said no one could think of why this happened.

"He was just such a goodhearted person that you would never think that somebody, especially his own family, would want to do something like that," Jeremy's friend Abreon Scott said. "The way he cares for others and the way we all cared for him."

Montgomery County Police said the discovery at the Herring residence was made just after 9 a.m. Monday.

Thurman Herring called police to say there had been some type of domestic disturbance at the townhouse. Police arrived to find the bodies of the young men, but they had to leave quickly, after finding what is described as a full gasoline can, that may have been placed near an open gas line.

Fire officials said they also found a combustible liquid in the home that suggested an attempted arson. After forcing entry into the home, officers were only able to stay inside long enough to determine that two bodies were inside because of the strong odor, police said.



Residents of nearby townhouses were evacuated as a precaution.