Utah: A 42-year-old man shot seven members of his family before killing himself in the US state of Utah after his wife filed for divorce, police said.
Officials said that the evidence suggests that the man, Michael Haight, killed the seven other members of his family and then killed himself inside the family’s home in Enoch City, which is nearly 250 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.
Police said the victims included the man’s wife, his five children and his mother-in-law.
City manager Rob Dotson said the town of about 8,000 people was in shock.
At a news conference on Thursday, city officials said 42-year-old insurance salesman Michael Haight opened fire on his wife, 40-year-old Tausha, his 78-year-old mother-in-law Gail Earl, and his five children before he killed himself.
The five children, who were not named, include three girls, 17, 12 and 7, and two boys, 7 and 4.
Enoch City manager Rob Dotson said their bodies were discovered by police at around 16:00 local time (23:00GMT) on Wednesday, after someone reported that the wife had missed a scheduled appointment, prompting a welfare check on the family’s home.
Mr Dotson said each of the victims appeared to have sustained a gunshot wound.
Officials also confirmed that the wife had filed for divorce on 21 December.
