Police: Family of Five, Including Three Children, Shot Dead in Maine
Officials report that a family of five, including three young children, were found on Sunday shot to death inside a southern Maine apartment.
According to the AP, a worker at the apartment complex discovered one body after being alerted to the apartment by a family friend who was concerned about the family's well-being. The worker immediately called the police.
Police found the family members—the parents in their 30s and the children aged twelve, seven, and four—in three different rooms. A gun was found near one of the bodies, and investigators said it appeared that someone in the family was responsible for the shootings. A spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety named Stephen McCausland spoke to the Portland Press Herald about the deaths:
"All indications are that no one outside of the family was responsible for the deaths. These are not accidental deaths."
The AP reports that the father was a maintenance worker for the complex. The AP spoke to a neighbor who described him as friendly, saying, "You'd walk and he'd ask how your day was going. He was really nice."
According to the Portland Press Herald, neighbors did not hear gunshots, "but at one point the man left the building and squealed his tires as he drove off and later returned and slammed the door."
At a press briefing on Sunday night, police said the family members were shot around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday. State police said autopsies will be performed Monday.
[image via AP]