Five children among 8 dead
The Canadian Press – January 4, 2023 / 21:00 | History: 404611
Photo: Google Street View
View of City Hall in Enoch City, Utah. Police found eight people who had been shot inside a house in the city.
UPDATE 21:00 h
Enoch City Manager Rob Dotson said the community was shocked by the news of the eight bodies and that the deceased, all members of a family, were well known in the southern Utah city .
“Many of us have served with them at church, in the community, and gone to school with these people,” Dotson said in a video statement Wednesday night.
“This community right now is hurting. They feel lost, they feel pain and they have a lot of questions,” Dotson added, noting that officials planned to release more information as it becomes available and the police investigation moves forward.
Call-based welfare checks to the police department like the one that led them to the residence where the bodies were found are routine when individuals are not seen for extended periods of time, Dotson said.
ORIGINAL 20:28 h
Eight people, including five children, were found dead of gunshot wounds in a southern Utah home on Wednesday, authorities said.
They were found when police conducted a welfare check at the residence, according to a news release from city officials in Enoch. It does not provide any information about what happened or why.
Police said they do not see any threat to the population.
The town of about 8,000 people is about 245 miles (394 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City.
Iron County School District officials said in a letter sent to parents that all five children attended schools in the district.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox offered his condolences in a tweet Wednesday night.