It was a tragic night in Utah Wednesday when police found a family of eight, five of them children, shot to death in their home in Enoch City, about 250 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.
The victims lived on Albert Drive, a rural area of Enoch City, and their bodies were found during a welfare check conducted by police. An initial analysis, Enoch officials reported, showed that each appeared to have gunshot wounds. This was the cause of death reported by Enoch City police.
However, unlike what happened in Moscow, Idaho, this is considered to be an isolated event, as several city officials stated in a press release: "Officers checked the residence and found three adults and five minors deceased inside the home. We don’t know why this happened, and we’re not going to guess.”
Further details will not be disclosed until the investigation is concluded
Police assured that they will not reveal much more until they conclude with the investigation. The potential suspects and motive of the murders remains undisclosed, but Rob Dotson, Enoch City Administrator said that, out of respect for the deceased, he would not reveal much more until the investigation was concluded: "We don’t know why this happened, and we’re not going to guess," he said in a video statement he shared with the media.
The family, Dotson explains in that same video, was beloved in the city. The children attended schools in the Iron County School District and were involved in the community. That is why all the inhabitants are dismayed by what happened:
Many of us have served with them in church, in the community and gone to school with these individuals. This community at this time is hurting. They’re feeling loss, they’re feeling pain and they have a lot of questions. We won’t know the mindsets, the thoughts of the individuals who experienced this tragedy, but we all can pray that their families and the neighbors and all will come to an understanding of what happened in this place, probably in a day or two, or maybe longer.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox has already offered his condolences for the deaths of these eight people via Twitter:
Our hearts go out to all those affected by this senseless violence. Please keep the community of Enoch in your prayers. https://t.co/mCjejDhYGf
— Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox (@GovCox) January 5, 2023
