Family of seven found shot dead in rural Australia

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A family of seven including four children was found dead with gunshot wounds Friday at a rural property in southwest Australia in what could be the country’s worst mass shooting in 22 years, police and news media said.

The children died with their mother and grandparents. The three generations had moved in 2015 to Osmington, a village of fewer than 700 people near the tourist town of Margaret River, to grow fruit, media reported.

Police would not comment on the possibility of murder-suicide, but said they are not looking for a suspect.

After being alerted by a phone call before dawn, police found the bodies and two guns at the property, Western Australia state Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said. Police wouldn’t say who made the call.

The bodies of two adults were found outside a house and the others were found inside. They all resided at the property, he said.

Police said they have no information that would raise concerns about wider public safety, suggesting a shooter is not at large.

“Police are currently responding to what I can only describe as a horrific incident,” Dawson told reporters.

“This devastating tragedy will no doubt have a lasting impact on the families concerned, the whole community and, in particular, the local communities in our southwest,” he added. Police were attempting to make contact with the victims’ relatives, Dawson said. He declined to release the names or ages of the dead.

Philip Alpers, a Sydney University gun policy analyst, said the tragedy appeared to be the worst mass shooting in Australia since a lone gunman killed 35 people in Tasmania state in 1996, prompting the nation to introduce tough gun controls.

Australia’s gun laws are widely acclaimed as a success, with supporters including former U.S. President Barack Obama saying Australia has not had a single mass shooting since they were implemented.

The generally accepted definition of a mass shooting — four deaths excluding the shooter in a single event — has been met only once in Australia since then. In 2014, a farmer shot his wife and three children before killing himself.