Four children and three adults found dead in apparent murder-suicide on a rural property in south-west of state

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Seven people, including four children, have been found dead on a property in Western Australia after an apparent murder suicide. After being alerted by a phone call before dawn, police found the bodies and two guns at the property in Osmington, a village of fewer than 700 people near the tourist town of Margaret River, Western Australia state Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said. Seven people including four children were found dead with gunshot wounds Friday at a rural property in southwest Australia in what could be the country's worst mass shooting in 22 years, police said. Dawson refused to be drawn on who the person was that alerted police, their relationship to the victims or whether they heard gunshots. “It appears that gunshot wounds are there, but I don’t want to go further than that.”

If confirmed to be a mass shooting, it would be Australia’s worst since a massacre in Tasmania claimed the lives of 35 people in 1996. As word about the shooting spread through the tiny community on Friday, a neighbour Felicity Haynes described the victims – who the Guardian has not named because police are still contacting family members – as community-minded. “I can only say at this point in time, we have no information to raise concern about wider public safety issues,” Western Australia police commissioner Chris Dawson said. Gian De Poloni (@GianDePoloni) Police have blocked Osmington Rd about 400m from the property @abcsouthwestwa @abcnews @abcperth pic.twitter.com/A4v5irSRJW

He called it a “horrific” and “devastating tragedy” which would have a “lasting impact”. "This devastating tragedy will no doubt have a lasting impact on the families concerned, the whole community and in particular, the local communities in our South West,” Dawson said.
Three adults and four children are found shot dead at a property in Margaret River, Western Australia. Police suspect murder-suicide.