Inside, the police found three people shot: a woman in her 30s, a girl in her early teens and a boy between 8 and 12 years old.
The woman and the girl were pronounced dead at the scene, and the boy was taken to Regions Hospital, where he later died of his injuries.
“This is a sad story,” said Xeng Xiong, who lives across the street. “These are my neighbors, this is my area. I live close to that. This is not a good sign. This is sad for the family. ”
The homicide unit has been notified and forensic services are also investigating.
The police are trying to determine whether the victims were related.
They are not commenting on whether a weapon has been recovered.
It is not known if other people were in the house at the time of the shooting.
“Unfortunately, these types of connections are difficult,” said Ernster. “This one in particular is difficult for some reasons. It is difficult because children died. It is also difficult because one of our policemen was here an hour before this call.”
Ernster explains that a police officer was called to the house for a welfare check at the request of a concerned family member from Tennessee. But the woman said she was fine and refused to call the family over the police’s phone.
“He spoke to her and explained why he was there,” says Ernster. “She looked at him and said, ‘I’m fine. Tell them I’m fine ‘”.
The police say they were at home once before a similar pension check.
“They were only concerned with her well-being, as she could be in danger, that kind of connection,” said Ernster. “Possibly it involved a domestic situation.”
In the early evening, a neighbor expressed concern about security in the area.
“I hear gunshots every night,” said Nicholas Bakke. “The school is coming in a few days. We are about to bring our kids on the bus, and it feels unpleasant to be in a neighborhood where things like this are happening. Terrible.”
Bakke says many residents have established a telephone network to keep in touch in case of problems.
“We all have each other’s numbers to keep him safe.” he said.
Ernster says investigators are also trying to find out if this was a domestic or foreign crime.
The coroner must positively identify the victims and determine the exact causes of the deaths in the coming days, police said.