A couple and their two young children, along with the family's three dogs, were found fatally shot in a suburban Chicago home, the New York Post reported. The Romeoville police are investigating it as a quadruple murder.
The bodies were found about 8.40 pm on Sunday in Romeoville by police after officers stopped by their home for a welfare check. The adults identified as Alberto Rolon, Zoraida Bartolomei and their two children, 10-year-old Adriel and 7-year-old Diego along with their three dogs were believed to have been shot between Saturday night and early Sunday.
Romeoville Police Deputy Chief Chris Burne during a press conference on Monday said that they don't believe the deaths were the result of a murder-suicide. "Right now we are investigating this as a murder," according to NBC Chicago.
Mr Burne said that he did not believe the surrounding community was at risk, though no arrests were reported.
"Due to the timeframe that has gone by - more than 18 hours from the time we were contacted - we are not asking anybody to shelter in place, we are not actively looking for anybody in the area," he said.
Mr Burne told the Chicago Sun-Times, "Our detectives and crime scene investigators have spent the last 36 hours collecting a tremendous amount of physical evidence"
Adding, "We were able to determine that this was not a random incident, and there was no cause for a shelter-in-place order."
"It is important that we conduct a thorough investigation and we have committed our full resources to that task. The victims deserve that," Romeoville Mayor John Noak said.
The police were called to conduct a well-being check at the home after a member of the family didn't show up to work or respond to phone calls from relatives throughout the day.
The children were students at Robert C. Hill Elementary, Valley View School District 365U, in Romeoville, Supt.