Update:
Eight family members – including five children – found dead in a southern Utah home were killed by their father, authorities said Thursday.
Officials in the city of Enoch said Michael Haight, 42, took his own life after killing his wife, mother-in-law and the couple’s five children.
Editor’s note: If you or someone you know exhibits warning signs of suicide, call 1-800-273-TALK, text 741741 or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
The children ranged in age from 4 to 17 and included three girls and two boys, authorities said. The other victims were Tausha Haight, 40, and her 78-year-old mother, Gail Earl.
Authorities have said they do not believe any other suspects are at large.
Enoch is a small town of about 8,000 people located 245 miles (394 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City and about equally distant from Las Vegas.
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Ben B. Brown
A law enforcement official stands at the front door of the Enoch, Utah, home where eight family members were found dead from gunshot wounds, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. (Ben B. Brown/The Deseret News via AP)
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Ben B. Braun
Neighbors watch as law enforcement officials work at a nearby Enoch, Utah, home where eight members of a family were found dead from gunshot wounds, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. (Ben B. Braun/The Deseret News via AP)
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Ben B. Braun
Police tape surrounds the crime scene in Enoch, Utah, where eight members of a family were found from gunshot wounds, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. (Ben B. Braun/The Deseret News via AP)
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Ben B. Braun
A law enforcement official stands near the front door of the Enoch, Utah, home where eight family members were found dead from gunshot wounds, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. (Ben B. Braun/The Deseret News via AP)
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Ben B. Braun
Law enforcement officials stand near the Enoch, Utah, home where eight family members were found dead from gunshot wounds, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. (Ben B. Braun/The Deseret News via AP)
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Ben B. Braun
A law enforcement officer stands stands near the Enoch, Utah, home where eight family members were found dead from gunshot wounds, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. (Ben B. Braun/The Deseret News via AP)
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ENOCH, Utah (AP) — A southern Utah community was struggling for answers on Thursday after police found eight people from one family, including five children, shot to death in the small town of Enoch.
Police sent officers to check on them on Wednesday and found the family dead from gunshot wounds. Officials did not immediately say why they went to the home.
“At this time, we do not believe there is a threat to the public or that there are any suspects at large,” officials said in a press release, without providing details
Enoch is a small town of about 8,000 people located 245 miles (394 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City and about equally distant from Las Vegas.
Enoch City Manager Rob Dotson said the community was sent reeling by news of the eight bodies and that the deceased — all members of one family — were well-known in the town. Little was immediately released to the public about the family. In most of Utah, the predominant religion is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known widely as the Mormon church.
“Many of us have served with them in church, in the community and gone to school with these individuals,” Dotson said Wednesday night. “This community at this time is hurting. They’re feeling loss, they’re feeling pain and they have a lot of questions.”
Ben B. Braun/The Deseret News via AP
A law enforcement official stands near the front door of the Enoch, Utah, home where eight family members were found dead from gunshot wounds, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023.
“We all can pray that their families and the neighbors and all will come to an understanding of what happened in this place, probably in a day or two, or maybe longer,” he said.
The five children attended schools in the Iron County School District, officials said in a letter sent to parents.
Enoch, off Interstate 15 in rural Utah, just north of the city of Cedar City and about 80 miles (128 kilometers) west of Bryce Canyon National Park, had major flooding in 2021 that damaged hundreds of homes.
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