PIKE COUNTY, Ohio – Authorities said that the killer of eight people in Ohio is believed to be at large and should be considered armed and dangerous.
The eight dead are seven adults and one teen in the same family, all shot in the head “execution-style”. A sheriff said three kids, including a days-old baby, survived the shootings.
The first seven bodies were found in three homes in Pike County, a rural community about 80 miles east of Cincinnati. The eighth was found at a fourth crime scene.
The situation is not being treated as an active shooting and no arrests have been made, the statement said.
Pastor Phil Fulton of Union Hill Church told CNN affiliate WLWT the situation was “very out of character” for the community.
“It’s a tragedy,” he said.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation. It sent more than a dozen agents to assist the Pike County Sheriff’s Office after the request for help came in at 8:21 a.m.
Schools in Pike County and surrounding counties were on lockdown earlier Friday as a precautionary measure, WLWT reported. They are “back to normal” but remain vigilant, Adams County Ohio Valley Local School Superintendent Richard Seas told WLWT.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich called the situation “beyond comprehension” and said the state is working with local law enforcement.
