A father, mother and their 12-year-old son were found dead Thursday inside a home in Andover, Massachusetts, the town’s police chief said.
Officers responded to the residence on Porter Road minutes after getting a 911 call from someone inside the home around 3:20 a.m., Andover Police Chief Patrick Keefe told reporters, without identifying the caller.
They breached two doors to enter the residence, where they discovered the 56-year-old father, the 55-year-old mother and the preteen with gunshot wounds, he said. Their names were not released, but Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker said the child was a sixth grader at Saint John’s Preparatory School in Danvers.
The school canceled classes Thursday after learning of the student’s death, according to the DA. A notice was posted on the school’s website.
Officials did not say who the shooter was or discuss a motive in the slayings during a morning news conference. No one else was inside the home, according to Keefe.
While the chief said investigators are “trying to figure out the why right now,” Tucker urged anyone dealing with depression or other mental health issues to seek help.
“Services are out there,” he said. “Our office is certainly a community resource for anybody that is having any difficulties at all.”
Tucker said there is no danger to the public, adding “this entire situation was contained within the address here.”
The home, a 5,869-square-foot Colonial built in 2002 and sold to the current owners in 2006, is currently assessed at $1.87 million, according to Andover property records.
The deaths in Andover come on the heels of a woman allegedly strangling three of her children before she jumped out a window in an attempted suicide at their suburban Boston home.
The woman, Lindsay Clancy, is charged with two counts of murder and three counts of suffocation or strangulation. A plea of not guilty was entered on her behalf Tuesday.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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