Five family members, including three children, were found dead in a Utah home on Tuesday, and another 17-year-old was taken to a hospital with a gunshot wound, police reported.
The deceased were two adults, an 11-year-old boy, and two girls aged 9 and 2, according to Roxeanne Vainuku, spokesperson for the West Valley City Police Department. It is currently unknown how they died.
They were found in the house in West Valley City, about 9 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. The teenager was found in the garage.
"Absolutely horrible. This is something that will certainly weigh heavily on the investigators of this case," Vainuku said at a press conference.
Authorities did not believe there was a suspect at large, and the shooting was "limited to this house," she added.
The 17-year-old "is injured and in the hospital, so there are some difficulties in communicating with him and obtaining more information," Vainuku said.
A family member alerted the police on Monday after unsuccessfully trying to contact the 38-year-old woman who lived in the house, authorities said. That day, police officers went to the house, but no one answered.
They returned on Tuesday afternoon after the same family member reported finding the 17-year-old in the garage.
Police were investigating inside the house and also talking to neighbors and looking for evidence on devices such as doorbell cameras, Vainuku said.