7 killed in deadliest shooting in 22 years

An Australian community is reeling from the deadliest mass shooting the country has seen in more than 20 years, after seven people, including four children, were discovered dead on a rural property near Margaret River.

Authorities in Western Australia responded early Friday morning to a home in Osmington, not far from Perth, where the four children and three adults were found dead from gunshot wounds, according to local news reports.

The mass shooting has rattled Australia, where lawmakers passed some of the world’s most restrictive gun-control laws after a 1996 massacre in Tasmania.

Western Australia police commissioner Chris Dawson said at a news conference that officers responded to the scene about 5:15 a.m. and discovered the seven bodies; two adults were outside, and five other victims were inside the home in Osmington, a small town nestled in Western Australia’s South West. Police said two firearms were also found at the scene.

Although police said that they are not searching for a suspect, they would not confirm reports that the incident was likely a murder-suicide. Authorities have not publicly identified the deceased, but a family friend told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the seven victims were Peter and Cynda Miles, their daughter, Katrina, and Katrina’s four children.