West Valley City Police Department investigating deaths of five family members inside the same home. (Credit: KSTU)
Five members of a Utah family, including three children, were found dead inside a home near Salt Lake City, police say.
The dead were two adults, an 11-year-old boy and two girls ages 9 and 2, said Roxeanne Vainuku, a spokesperson for the West Valley City Police Department. It was not immediately clear how they died.
"This is far beyond anything routine. We were just taking a look at the numbers today of homicides that happened in this city and there were four in this city for the entire year of 2024. So this more than doubles that number," she told KSTU.
A 17-year-old was also taken to a hospital with a gunshot wound after investigators encountered the grisly scene Tuesday in West Valley City, according to law enforcement.
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Vainuku added that the "absolutely horrific" incident was "isolated to this home" and authorities do not believe a suspect is on the loose.
The West Valley City Police Department said it was first contacted on Monday by a family member who said they had not been able to get in touch with a woman who lived at the property.
"We responded to the house and tried to make contact, but no one answered," the department wrote on X. "Officers looked in windows and spoke to neighbors. They did not find any indications of an emergency or crime so they asked the family member to keep in contact."
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Police said after the woman failed to show up for work on Tuesday, the family member then entered the garage of the home and found the 17-year-old - who also lives there - suffering from an apparent gunshot sound.
"Officers entered the home and found the bodies of five people inside," the West Valley City Police Department said. "Initial information indicates all of the deceased are members of the same family who live inside the home."
Police are investigating inside the home and looking for evidence from doorbell cameras to piece together what happened, Vainuku said.
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Because the 17-year-old "is injured, and he's in the hospital, there are some challenges in communicating with him and finding out more information," Vainuku added.