Police are launching an investigation after five family members, including three children, were found dead in a home in Utah on Tuesday. Another minor, age 17, was taken to a hospital with a gunshot wound; authorities said that the victims were all shot to death.
A concerned family member discovered the injured 17-year-old boy in the garage of the home Tuesday afternoon, which led to the discovery of the five bodies. The family member had grown concerned after not being able to contact the woman who lived at the residence for some time, and police were dispatched to the house. However, they were unable to make contact with anyone inside and found no emergency. The next day, the family member returned to the house after the woman who lived there failed to show up for work, and gained entrance to the residence via the garage, where she found the injured 17-year-old boy.
According to Roxeanne Vainuku, a spokesperson for the West Valley City Police Department, the deceased victims have been identified as a 42-year-old man, a 38-year-old woman, an 11-year-old boy, 9-year-old girl and a 2-year-old girl. The circumstances surrounding the deaths were unclear as of Wednesday, and Vainuku said at a news conference: “Absolutely horrific. This is something that certainly will weigh heavily on investigators in this case,” adding that authorities do not believe there is a suspect on the loose, and believe the shooting is something that was “isolated to this home.”
According to CBS affiliate KUTV, Vainuku said that due to the fact the 17-year-old “is injured and he’s in the hospital, there are some challenges in communicating with him and finding out more information. In any case where people have died, loved ones have been lost, we want to make sure that we do the most absolute thorough job possible so that we can bring justice to the victims.”
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