Eight family members are dead in the rural town of Peebles, Ohio in what appeared to be “execution-style killings” Friday.
Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader and Attorney General Mike DeWine updated the public on Friday on the mass shootings, confirming that seven adults and a 16-year-old boy were dead and that three children aged four days to three years survived the incident.
Sheriff Reader also said police currently have no one in custody, but anyone believed to be involved in the shootings are considered armed and dangerous.
“Right now we have no one in custody,” Reader said. “I want to urge everyone to be under the understanding that there is a strong possibility that any individuals involved with this are armed and extremely dangerous.”
Attorney General DeWine said it was unknown how many people were responsible for the murders.
“There may be more than one, there may be three. We just don’t know at this point,” DeWine said.
Some of the victims were in bed, indicating they were shot while they were sleeping, authorities said. The victims were identified as members of the Rhoden family.
“This is a horrible tragedy,” DeWine said. “Each one of the victims appears to have been executed. Each one of the victims appears to have been shot in the head.”
“It’s heartbreaking. The one mom was killed in her bed with the 4-day-old right there.”
Sheriff Reader offered his condolences to the family targeted in the shootings.
“My thoughts and prayers go out to them,” Reader said.
The victims were found in four different homes on the same rural road. The 8th victim was found early Friday afternoon, the AG’s office said in a statement.
According to ABC News affiliate WCPO Cincinnati, officers first responded to a home in the small town located about 130 kilometres south of Columbus.
“The mail carrier told me there’s something seriously bad going on up the road,” resident Goldie Holderbran told WCPO.
A local pastor told WCPO, that the shootings were “very out of character for our community, but with the ways of the world, the way things are going, I guess maybe we shouldn’t be surprised. But we are. This is so tragic.”
Law enforcement has closed down Union Hill Road in Pike County, Ohio, while they investigate a shooting with multiple fatalities on Friday, April 22, 2016.
As a result of the incident a nearby high school was placed under lockdown as a precaution.
Ohio Governor and Republican presidential contender John Kasich called the incident “tragic.”
“Reports we are receiving from Peebles are tragic beyond comprehension,” the governor said on social media. “We’ll continue to monitor this closely and the state will work with local law enforcement however we can.”
Multiple agencies are assisting with the investigation including the Criminal Intelligence Unit, and Cyber Crimes Unit.