Five found dead at southeast North Carolina home, says police

Five people were found to fatally shot at a residence in southeast North Carolina, a local sheriff said on Thursday.

Sampson County Sheriff Jimmy Thornton said deputies responded to a homicide report at the home off Garland Highway near Clinton at around 1 am and found the bodies with gunshot wounds.

Police don’t have any information about a suspect and don’t know how the victims knew each other, Thornton said in a news release.


Addressing a news conference, Captain Eric Pope said that the authorities received a 911 call from a person who had spoken to one of the victims around 11 pm and then found the bodies when they stopped by the home.

The victims, including four men and one woman ranging from their mid-30s to 80s.

"This is not normal for our community. It is not normal for any community," Pope said. "It should shock the conscience."

The bodies were found hours after a shooting in Lewiston, Maine — the 36th mass killing in the U.S. this year.

With inputs from AP