AT LEAST EIGHT people were found dead today in four locations in rural Ohio, authorities said.
Seven of them, including two children, were slain in “execution-style killings” at three homes along a rural road, but no arrests were made and it’s unclear whether the killer or killers were among the dead, authorities added.
Details on the death of the eighth person weren’t immediately available, but the body was found in a fourth location, said Jill Del Greco, spokeswoman with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Attorney General Mike DeWine planned to provide an update in Pike County later today, she said.
DeWine and Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader had said earlier that seven victims were believed to be members of the same family. All were shot to death, they said.
There is not an active shooter and no arrests have been made, DeWine and Reader said. Authorities are trying to determine a motive, identify the deceased and determine if the killer or killers are among the deceased individuals or on the loose.
A dozen Bureau of Criminal Investigation agents were called this morning to Pike County, an economically struggling area in the Appalachian region some 75 miles east of Cincinnati.
TV reports from the scene said a staging area has been set up with ambulances and fire personnel.
Governor John Kasich, campaigning in Pennsylvania for his Republican presidential bid, said his office was monitoring the situation in Pike County.
“Reports we are receiving from Peebles are tragic beyond comprehension,” Kasich wrote on his Twitter account.
The FBI in Cincinnati also said it was closely monitoring the situation and has offered assistance to the Pike County sheriff’s office if needed.
Piketon is the site of a Cold War-era uranium plant that was closed in 2001 and is still being cleaned up.
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