Eight members of Utah family found dead from gunshot wounds

Eight members of the same family, including five children, have been found dead from gunshot wounds in a house in southern Utah.

The victims were found by police who came to check on their welfare, according to a statement by city officials in Enoch, a town of about 8,000 people 245 miles (394km) south of Salt Lake City.

Police said they did not consider there was any threat to the public.

Rob Dotson, the Enoch city manager, said the community was reeling and that the family was well known in the town.

Dotson said officials would release more information as the police investigation progressed.

Welfare checks based on calls to the police department like the one that led them to the residence where the bodies were found are routine when individuals are not seen for extended periods of time, Dotson 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 west of Bryce Canyon National Park, had major flooding in 2021 that caused damage at hundreds of homes.

The Utah governor, Spencer Cox, tweeted his condolences on Wednesday night.