Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Authorities said police found the bodies of two adults and three children of the same family who died from gunshot wounds in their Massachusetts home, authorities said.
Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said Monday during a press conference that the Abington Police Department received a 911 call around 7:30 a.m. from an extended family member who had arrived at the residence to take the children to school and discovered an adult bleeding on the first floor.
On arrival, police discovered four more bodies as they searched the scene.
"This is just a horrible, horrible event here for the town of Abington," Cruz said.
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Released later Monday, the deceased were identified as Deirdre Zaccardi, 40; Joseph Zaccardi, 43; Alexis Zaccardi, 11; and 9-year-old twins Nathaniel and Kathryn Zaccardi. Deirdre, the mother of the children and wife to Joseph, was first discovered by police on a couch on the first floor, Cruz said.
"All of the deaths appear to be the result of gunshot wounds," Cruz said during the press conference, adding, "this appears to be an isolated incident. There is no current threat to public safety."
He said the investigation is ongoing.
"Today, our family has suffered an unfathomable loss," the family said in a statement released by the district attorney's office. "As we attempt to make sense of the enormity of this event, we respectfully ask that the media respect our family's wishes to be left alone as we grieve our tremendous losses in private."
Abington School District confirmed the three children were students in its system and counselors would be made available during school hours to offer support.
Superintendent Peter Schafer described the situation as an "unexplainably tragic."
"Their presence touched so many lives and there are no words to express the sadness we feel," he said.
