Eight people, including five children, found dead in Utah home

Eight family members, five of whom were children, were found dead from gunshot wounds in a southern Utah home, officials said.

City officials in Enoch, a small town of about 8,000 people 245 miles (394 km) south of Salt Lake City, said in a statement that the victim was discovered Wednesday when police conducted a welfare inspection at the residence. I was.

Police said no threat to the public was detected.

Enoch city manager Rob Dotson said the community was shaken by the news of eight bodies, saying the deceased were all members of one family and well known in the southern Utah town. rice field.

“Many of us serve with them in our churches and communities and go to school with these people,” Dotson said in a video statement Wednesday night.

“This community is hurting at this time. He said he plans to release more information as time goes on.

“I don’t know the mindset and thoughts of the individuals who experienced this tragedy, but I hope that their families, their neighbors, and everyone, maybe in a day or two, will understand what happened in this place. We can pray that it will be, or it might be longer,” Dotson said, choking at one point.

Welfare checks based on calls to police stations, such as taking them to the residence where the body was found, are routinely done when individuals are not seen for an extended period of time, Dotson said.

Five children attended schools in the Iron County School District, officials said in a letter sent to the parents.

Just north of the city of Cedar City and about 80 miles (128 kilometers) west of Bryce Canyon National Park, Enoch, near Utah’s Interstate 15, will be hit by massive flooding in 2021, wiping out hundreds of millions of dollars. of houses were damaged.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox offered his condolences in a tweet Wednesday night.