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Shootings

'Three little children are gone forever': Family of 5 found dead in Massachusetts home

A family of five was found dead in their Massachusetts home Monday morning when a relative showed up to take the children to school, authorities say.

The two adults and three children died from apparent gunshot wounds, but there is no threat to the public, Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz told reporters.

Cruz's office identified family members as  Deirdre Zaccardi, 40,  Joseph Zaccardi, 43, Alexis Zaccardi, 11, and twins Nathaniel and Kathryn Zaccardi, both 9.

"It's a crime, a crime occurred in that building. Three little children are gone forever," Cruz said.

When responding to the house in Abington, about 20 miles south of Boston, authorities first discovered Deirdre Zaccardi's body, then the rest of the family, Cruz said. 

Law enforcement officers work outside a home where two adults and three children were found dead with gunshot wounds on Monday, Oct. 7, 2019, in Abington, Mass.

Cruz said that the investigation was ongoing but that it appeared "to be an isolated incident."

"When something unimaginable like this happens, there's always going to be more questions than there are going to be answers," Cruz said. "This is just a horrible, horrible event here for the town of Abington."

Abington police Chief David Majenski said there was no history of domestic issues with the family.

The victims' relatives called their deaths "an unfathomable loss" and asked for privacy "as we attempt to make sense of the enormity of this event," they said in a statement released by Cruz's office.

Superintendent Peter Schafer of Abington Public Schools, where the three children attended school, said counselors would be made available to students after the "unexpected and unexplainably tragic loss."

"Their presence touched so many lives and there are no words to express the sadness we feel," he said of the family.

Contributing: The Associated Press. Follow USA TODAY's Ryan Miller on Twitter @RyanW_Miller

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