5 family members found dead in Utah home, 17-year-old hospitalized

Police in Utah are investigating the deaths of five people from the same family who were found dead in their home.

The West Valley City Police Department said on from Salt Lake City.

The five people found dead included two adults, a 42-year-old man, a 38-year-old woman, an 11-year-old boy, a 9-year-old girl and a 2-year-old girl. Police noted that their “initial information” suggested they were all related and lived together.

Authorities said their investigation began when they were contacted on Monday, Dec. 16, by a family member who expressed “concern” to police after “she had not heard from the woman following a visit several days earlier.” had who lived in the house”.

Officers then visited the property and attempted to contact the family. However, when they arrived and knocked on the door, “no one answered,” so officers looked through the home’s windows and “talked to the neighbors.”

“They found no evidence of an emergency or crime and therefore asked the family member to keep in touch,” police said in their statement.

When one of the deceased failed to show up for work on Tuesday, December 17, the concerned family member decided to enter the home’s garage to check if everyone was OK. There, she found a 17-year-old male family member suffering from “an apparent gunshot wound” and called police.

Officers were on scene shortly after 2 p.m. and the 17-year-old was taken to hospital. West Valley City police spokeswoman Roxeanne Vainuku described his injuries as “significant” in a press conference, according to KTVX and NBC News.

Want to stay up to date with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

“He’s in a state where we haven’t really been able to communicate with him,” Vainuku said, according to NBC News. His exact condition is unknown, according to the outlet.

After searching the house, authorities found the five additional bodies. However, police did not say how they might have died.

Vainuku described the scene as “absolutely horrific,” adding that it “certainly places a heavy burden on investigators in this case.”

Police said in a statement that they “obtained a search warrant for the home” and investigators began investigating inside the home.

“Officers have also surveyed the neighborhood and collected information and video evidence,” they added.

“At this time, we believe this incident only involves this home,” police continued.