Five children were among eight family members found shot dead in a house in Utah on Wednesday.
The victims’ names and ages – and any potential motive – remain unclear as the investigation gets underway. But the victims were all members of one family well-known in Enoch, a rural town of 8,000 in the state’s southwest corner, the Associated Press reported.
“Many of us have served with them in church, in the community and gone to school with these individuals,” said Enoch City Manager Rob Dotson, adding, “This community at this time is hurting. They’re feeling loss, they’re feeling pain and they have a lot of questions.”
He said to pray that “all will come to an understanding of what happened in this place, probably in a day or two, or maybe longer.”
Officials don’t believe there’s any threat to the public, or that any suspects are at large, FOX 13 reported.
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The five children were students of the Iron County School District, the district announced.
Police found the bodies while performing a wellness check at the residence, which FOX 13 reported is a home in the 4900 North block of Albert Drive.
A neighbor, Tom Deville, told FOX 13 the victims “were just really nice people.” A family friend, Tina Brown, described her shock to FOX 13.
“It’s almost like we grew up so sheltered in these small southern Utah communities that we don’t see a lot of this,” she said. “Sure, our kids hear about it on the news and on YouTube and podcasts and, you know, Dateline.”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox tweeted, “Our hearts go out to all those affected by this senseless violence. Please keep the community of Enoch in your prayers.”
