Investigators in a Utah city believe a man fatally shot his family, including three children, before he killed himself, police said Wednesday.
A 17-year-old survived the shooting at a home in West Valley City. He was shot in the head and remains in critical condition, police spokesperson Roxeanne Vainuku said.
“That is our initial determination, is that the father likely shot all of the members of the family and then himself,” she told reporters, but police need ballistic and other evidence to confirm that.
Dead in the shooting are the 42-year-old father; the 38-year-old mother; an 11-year-old son; and two daughters, ages 2 and 9, police said.
Police would not publicly identify the dead until they could notify relatives, Vainuku said.
The discovery was made Tuesday after a concerned family member went to the home and found the wounded 17-year-old son in the garage, she said.
Police were called and found the mother and the two daughters dead in an upstairs bedroom and the father and the 11-year-old son dead in the living room, she said.
A handgun was found beneath the father’s body, Vainuku said.
Police believe the shootings happened sometime over the weekend. Autopsies will confirm the official cause of death and could shed more light about when they were shot, she said.
Investigators believe the 17-year-old was not shot in the garage but made his way there after he was wounded, Vainuku said.
He sustained a severe brain injury and is not able to communicate with police, she said.
The family member who made the discovery has been in regular communication with the family and became concerned when that had stopped, Vainuku said.
There has been no history of domestic violence at the home and no note left, and police don’t have a motive, Vainuku said.
“We know people want to know why. We want to know why. But the truth is we may never know,” she said. “We don’t have any information as to why this happened; we have no history with this family.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
