Eight family members killed in Ohio mass shooting
Three young children survive mass shooting of eight family members in Pike County, Ohio
Aerial view of one of the locations being investigated in Pike County, Ohio
Eight family members found dead in rural Ohio were shot in the head “execution style”, most while they slept, authorities said on Friday.
The state’s attorney general said that the victims - seven adults and a teenager – were killed in four places and any suspects are still at large. Three young children survived the shootings. One of them, a 4-day-old baby, was lying down in bed next to her mother while she was shot. The other survivors are a 6-month-old old baby and a 3-year-old child.
Over a dozen officials from multiple agencies were sent to crime scenes in Piketon, south of Columbus.
County Sheriff Charles Reader said that all of the victims are members of a family called Rhoden.
"There is a strong possibility that any individual involved in this is armed and incredibly dangerous," Reader said.
Police have not determined a motive or identified the dead, and have not determined whether the killer is among the deceased.
However, a local pastor claimed that violence may have been the result of a "domestic situation".
All of the victims are members of a family called Rhoden, said Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader.
Their bodies were found in homes along Union Hill Road in Pike County. The Pike County Sheriff said there are four active crime scenes spanning about 30 miles (48km).
Ohio Attorney General Mike Mike DeWine said it is possible some of the victims were shot overnight because they were found in their beds.
"One mom was apparently killed in her bed with [the four-day-old child] right there," DeWine said . "It's hard to believe."
Authorities do not believe that any of the deaths were suicides and are urging residents of the county to come forward with any information.
Local schools Peebles Elementary and Peebles High School were earlier on "lockout" - no-one went in or out - due to the ongoing situation in Piketon.
The FBI in Cincinnatitweeted that they are "closely monitoring the situation".
Ohio Governor and Republican presidential candidate John Kasich tweeted that the situation is "tragic beyond comprehension".
