5, Including 3 Children, Found Dead At Arkansas Home On Christmas Day
KEY POINTS
- The victims have not been publicly identified
- It is believed that they were all related to each other
- Police said guns were involved, but no suspect has been identified
Five people, including two women and three girls, were found dead at their Arkansas home on Christmas Day.
Around 5 p.m. on Friday, Pope County Sheriff's Office responded to a residence in Atkins after a visiting relative had entered the house and found the bodies.
The victims, ranging in age from 8 to 50 years old, have not been publicly identified, pending notification of next of kin. However, it is believed that they are all related to each other, reported the Huff Post.
How long the victims had been dead before their bodies were found remains unclear, said a report from CNN. The case appeared to be domestic in nature.
"We believe it is domestic in nature. At this time, we believe this is an isolated incident and do not feel that there is any continued danger to the local public. It's too early to speculate on a motive, the victims' causes of death or when the deaths occurred. Some of the victims appear to have been shot," said Pope County Sheriff Shane Jones. "This is a tragic incident. We just need to pray for a family that has just been devastated."
No suspect has been identified. However, according to Jones, they do not think anyone is at large as the suspect is believed to be among the dead, reported ABC News.
An investigation into the incident is underway and the police are in the process of collecting evidence. The sheriff's office said the probe may take days. The Arkansas State Police and the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory are also involved in the investigation.
According to Huff Post, a neighbor claimed to have heard "what sounded like gunshots."
"It sounded like it was a gun going off. It was going, 'pop, pop, pop' real fast," the neighbor, who has not been identified, said.
![crime scene](https://d.ibtimes.com/en/full/2964828/crime-scene.jpg?w=736&f=0f85104921b778d34e710c10bfb98609)