Five people and a dog were found dead in a home in Duluth, Minnesota, on Wednesday in what began as a call about someone having a mental health crisis.
Officials said they believe all those found in the home are related, and neighbors indicated some may be children. Police are withholding names until next of kin are notified.
The initial call came in to Hermantown, just northwest of Duluth, shortly after 11 a.m., the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. Officers weren’t able to contact the person involved at that scene, and later Hermantown police contacted Duluth police.
The information they provided led Duluth officers to a home in the city’s East Hillside neighborhood, where a tip told them that the person they were looking for may have a weapon.
“Due to the intelligence discovered, numerous law enforcement and public safety agencies responded to the scene,” police said. “The home that agencies responded to was known to the subject.”
After what they called a “methodical search of the premises,” officers entered the home and found the bodies.
A neighbor, Rick Adamski, told the Star Tribune that a family of four, including two preteen girls, lived at the home, which has a Little Free Library in the front yard and sleds and wagons on the property.
“I just can’t believe it,” Adamski said.
The Pioneer Press said that investigators believe the subject of the initial investigation in Hermantown is among the dead.
“Earlier today there was an unimaginable tragedy that has struck our community, one that is very very difficult for us. It makes us have heavy, heavy hearts,” Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “Know that our thoughts and prayers are certainly with the family and friends of these victims.
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