Police say 5 individuals, together with three youngsters, are lifeless in a house in a western Minneapolis suburb in an obvious murder-suicide. The children had not been to school in two days.
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Authorities have not released the identities of those killed or said how they died, but said there appeared to be “no threat or danger to the community”.
Siitari said Thursday that he had never seen a scene so grim in his three decades of police work, and that it was extremely hard for the officers involved.
Siitari said the Hennepin County Medical Examiner would officially release the names and causes of death.
Short, a registered nurse, founded the website allnurses.com in the 90s. But the father’s business posted a notice online saying the victims were Brian Short and his family.
The investigation for this incident is ongoing. The body appeared to have suffered a “traumatic injury”. The Shorts bought the home on St. Alban’s Bay in 2011 for $2 million, Hennepin County property tax records show.
After waiting for backup to arrive, police found three other family members in the basement. Brian Short is 45. “They love coming to the site to decompress and get some support”, he said.
“It’s just a disgusting tragedy”. We just found out this afternoon that Brian and his family have been killed.
However, several Twin Cities media outlets reported Friday evening that Brian Short shot his family and then himself.
The Star Tribune spoke with neighbors and friends of the Shorts, who in the hours after the news were still trying to cope. Bob Weigel says he still can’t believe his best friend Brian, Brian’s wife Karen and their three kids are gone. He said the family was always friendly and said he used to see the children walking along their quiet street with friends.
Neighbors told CNN affiliate KARE they saw no signs of trouble in the family.
Home the night before the bodies were discovered, he said, he didn’t hear anything amiss from the Short house.
The death of the family was confirmed by Short’s website in a statement posted at 6.44pm EST.
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His last public post was May 24. Karen Short’s sister, Kelly Wilhelm, declined to comment.
