This is horrifying and tragic.
At least seven people — including one child — are dead after being shot by an unknown assailant at three different scenes in a rural area near Piketon, Ohio, according to law enforcement.
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Authorities don’t know much more, and they have not yet found the shooter.
But they are NOT treating this as an active shooter situation; according to local TV reports out of the area, police do not believe the shootings were random.
Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation has sent more than a dozen agents to the crime scenes, with news reporters showing them working to piece together what must be a very difficult situation (below):
Rich Jaffe, a local reporter, has confirmed that all seven victims are family members, making the scary incident all the more tragic (below):
Ugh.
Concurrently, schools in the area are on lockdown as authorities determine next steps for finding the killer or killers.
Obviously, this is a developing situation, and we’ll have more updates as necessary.
In the mean time, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this horrific, large-scale tragedy.
[Image via WSYX Columbus.]