Eight killed 'execution style' at 4 Ohio homes; 3 children survived bloody attack, officials say

PEEBLES, Ohio, April 22 (UPI) -- Eight people, including one child, were found dead in four southern Ohio homes Friday, the apparent victims of "execution style" killings, law enforcement officials said.

Authorities said during a news conference Friday that seven adults and one child were found in four separate locations in a rural area about 80 miles east of Cincinnati in Pike and Adams counties, Ohio.

All the victims were shot in the head and some were in their beds, officials said, indicating that they were shot as they slept. One victim, a young mother, was shot in her bed as her 4-day-old newborn slept just inches away, investigators said.

Three children, however, survived the attack -- the newborn, a 6-month-old and a 3-year-old. It wasn't immediately clear to police why only three children were spared instead of all four. The dead child was 16, officials said.

None of the victims were immediately identified.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader said investigators are trying to determine a motive and identify the dead.

"It's heartbreaking," DeWine said. "The one mom was killed in her bed with the 4-day-old right there."

Reader said there is a "strong possibility that any individual involved in this is armed and extremely dangerous."

Mid-afternoon Friday, authorities said the perpetrator was "probably" still on the loose. By Friday night, police were certain the gunman hasn't been caught.

The Cincinnati office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it is monitoring the developments.

Seven of the bodies were found in three locations on Union Hill Road, a rural wooded area in the southern part of the state. The eighth was found a short distance away at another home.

A school in the area was locked down as police processed the crime scenes and attempted to determine if there was a danger to the community. It was eventually lifted.

Pastor Phil Fulton of the nearby Union Hill Church told WCPO the victims included adults and children from the same family. He said one of the victims was the mother of the adults and children involved.

He said it was "very out of character for our community, but with the ways of the world, the way things are going, [so] I guess maybe we shouldn't be surprised. But we are. This is so tragic."

Ohio governor and Republican presidential hopeful John Kasich tweeted his concerns Friday, saying "Reports we are receiving from Peebles are tragic beyond comprehension."