Six dead in shooting near Seattle, United States

December 27, 2007

Six people were found shot to death inside a home in Carnation, a city near Seattle, Washington in the United States.

According to the information officer for the King County sheriff's department, John Urquhart, they were victims of "homicidal violence." Investigators have ruled out murder-suicide.

The deaths are said to have occurred on Christmas Eve, and were discovered by a co-worker of the man living there at 8 a.m. PST (UTC-8), Wednesday.

"We have an investigation of suspicious deaths," said Detective Bob Conner. There are "no threats to any neighbors in the area," he added.

So far two people, a man and a woman who are only described as being in their twenties, have been arrested in connection with the shooting. CNN says that neither of the two individuals have "access to lawyers" and neither of them have confessed to any wrongdoing.

"This couple was among the people that showed up at the [crime] scene. And as we got to talking to them, we developed probable cause and made the arrests," said Sergeant John Urquhart.

The dead were described as a couple in their 50s, a couple in their 30s, and two children — a 6-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy.

Authorities describe it as a "complex and large" investigation with over 15 people gathering evidence.