3 children, 2 adults found dead inside Cecil County home: police

ELK MILLS, Md. - An investigation is underway after deputies found five people, including three children, shot to death inside a Cecil County home, sheriff's office officials said.

According to the Cecil County Sheriff's Office, a man called 911 just after 9:00 a.m. Friday morning to report that three children and a woman had been shot and killed inside a home.

Deputies responded to the home, located in the unit block of Hebron Court in Elk Mills, Maryland, and found a man unresponsive in the house's detached garage. Elk Mills is located in northeastern Maryland near the borders for Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Police said once inside the home, deputies discovered a deceased person on the first floor of the house, and three more on the second floor. According to police, all the victims were shot.

According to the sheriff's office, the victims are a man, a woman, and three children. Police did not release the ages of the children, but said they were in 5th, 7th, and 8th grade.

Deputies also recovered a handgun from the scene, that they say, was found near the man.

Investigators said they are still working to identify next of kin before releasing the identities of the victims.

Cecil County Sheriff Scott Adams called the incident a tragedy.

"Anytime you have a loss to these levels. Any loss is terrible, but a loss to this level, which is not a common thing — it’s certainly not a common thing here in Cecil County — it’s tragic and terrible and it takes a long time for people to process," said Adams.

The sheriff did not indicate if there was a motive in the killings. Adams said the sheriff's office has no records of deputies responding to calls at the house.

Investigators said they are continuing to search the house Friday afternoon for answers.