An Indian-origin family, including their twin children, has been found dead at their home in California in the United States with the police investigating the case as a murder-suicide.
The victims have been identified by the friends as Anand Sujith Henry, his wife Alice Priyanka, and their 4-year-old twin boys Noah and Neithan, PTI quoted NBC Bay Area as saying.
The incident took place in San Mateo on Monday, as per the report. However, the victims' identities have not yet been released, police said.
The Police said that a 911 call spurred a welfare check at the location on Monday after someone reported they hadn't heard from the residents for some time. They arrived and checked the exits of the home and found no signs of forced entry.
"Unfortunately, we located four deceased people inside the home. One adult male. One adult female and two children," said Jerami Surratt, public information officer with the San Mateo Police Department.
The case is being investigated as a murder-suicide, police said. The husband reportedly filed for divorce in December 2016 but apparently did not go through with it. The two young children were found inside a bedroom, the cops added.
"The children did not have any gunshot wounds. Unfortunately, they were found deceased, so that will be part of the autopsy, to figure out the cause of (the children's) death," Surratt said at a Tuesday afternoon press conference.
According to the PTI report, the police believe the boys were smothered, strangled, or given a lethal overdose because there was no sign of trauma on their bodies.
The man and woman were found inside a bathroom, according to police. They both had gunshot wounds. A 9-millimeter pistol and a loaded magazine were found in the bathroom. The deaths appear to be an isolated incident, and there is no danger to the public.
"We are confident the person responsible was located within the home," police said in a statement.
On February 10, a 41-year-old Indian-origin IT executive died after suffering life-threatening injuries during an assault outside a restaurant in Washington. Before that, Syed Mazahir Ali, an Indian student was attacked by robbers in Chicago.
Earlier, 25-year-old Indian student Vivek Saini was fatally attacked in Georgia state’s Lithonia city by a homeless drug addict. In a separate incident, another student identified as 19-year-old Shreyas Reddy Beniger was found dead in Ohio. However, local authorities have ruled out foul play.