A family of five was found dead at their home in Ohio on Thursday night.
Police in Uniontown, less than 20 miles south of Akron, responded to a wellness check at a family home just after 7:30 p.m. on Thursday night, according to amedia releasefrom the Uniontown Police Department.
Officers found five victims upon arrival at the home. They said the violence was “a domestic dispute that turned deadly.”
Nancy Molnar / Canton Repository / USA TODAY NETWORK
The police department, along with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the coroner’s office and the Stark County Prosecutor’s Office, are investigating the incident as a “quadruple homicide, suicide,” according to the release.
According to theAkronBeaconJournal, Henry Campbell, the chief investigator for the coroner’s office, identified the victims as Jason Dunham, 46, Melissa Dunham, 42, and their children Renee, 15, Amber, 12, and Evan, 9.
Campbell also confirmed that the victims all died from gunshot wounds, according to the outlet. At 9:52 p.m., they were all pronounced dead.
The coroner’s office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Neighbors of the family — Neighbors Edmond Gadzacko and his wife, Denise — also identified the victims as Jason and Melissa Dunham and their three children, according to
Neighbor Edmond Gadzacko told theCantonRepositorythat the two girls were Girl Scouts and the younger son a Boy Scout. He said he and his wife always enjoyed the family and never had issues with them.
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His wife, Denise, described Melissa Dunham as a “wonderful mother,” and called Jason a “nice man, but controlling.”
The superintendent of the school district, Kevin Tobin, released a statement confirming that three Lake Local School District students had died, theRepositoryreported.
“We alerted our parents and our staff (about the tragedy),” Tobin said. “And we have counselors and others meeting (with kids) as we speak. We are working through this as calm and compassionate as we can.”
Tobin said the eldest daughter, Renee, was very involved in the school’s band, which was scheduled to attend and perform at a football game on Friday night.
“This is going to impact them. They are a family and it is almost two years to the day when we lost another band student after surgery,” Tobin said, per theRepository. “It’s a very, very tragic incident and we will just rally as a school community and as Lake Local community.”
The Uniontown Police Department is still investigating the incident.
source: people.com
