Seven members of the same family are dead in what police suspect was a murder-suicide.
The shooting took place Sunday evening in Moncure, North Carolina, which has a population of just over 700 people and is about 30 miles southwest of Raleigh. Chatham County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Lt. Sara Pack told NBC News that the suspect is among those found dead.
Pack said the bodies of the seven family members were found in multiple homes that were located on the same property. Those killed, including the suspected shooter, were identified Monday as Jeanie Ray, 67; Helen Mason, 93; Ellis Mansfield, 73; Lisa Mansfield, 54; John Paul Sanderford, 41; Nicole Sanderford, 39; and 66-year-old Larry Ray. It is unclear which person is the suspected shooter.
Pack said that Moncure is known to be “a quiet, close-knit community where violence is out of the norm, making the news even more disturbing.”
Law enforcement officials are working to piece together a motive for the violence, working at the crime scene all through the night.
“Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the victims of this terrible tragedy,” Chatham County Sheriff Mike Roberson said in a press release. “To lose any family member is devastating, but to lose several at once to unexpected violence is unimaginable. There are no words to describe the sense of loss we feel as a community in the wake of this terrible event.”
“In Chatham County, when one of us hurts, we all hurt, and we pull together,” he added.
