Two children and a woman who died in a shooting in County Fermanagh have been named.
Vanessa Whyte, 45, and her daughter Sara Rutledge, aged 13, and 14-year-old son James Rutledge, died in the shooting on Wednesday morning, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said.
A man, who is a member of the same household, was seriously injured in the shooting in the village of Maguiresbridge, about 75 miles (120km) southwest of Belfast.
Police launched a murder investigation, and officers are probing whether it was a triple murder and attempted suicide.
Police don’t anticipate any arrests being made at this stage, Superintendent Robert McGowan, district commander for Fermanagh and Omagh, said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Emergency services were called to the Drummeer Road area of the village at around 8am on Wednesday after receiving a 999 call from the house where the shooting took place.
Two people were found dead at the scene, and two others were seriously injured.
One patient was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast by air ambulance.
Another was taken by ambulance to South West Acute Hospital where they later died.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil McGuinness asked people with information about the incident to contact police.
“I am particularly keen to hear from anyone who had spoken to Vanessa, Sara or James over the last few weeks. If you are someone that Vanessa, Sara or James may have confided in, please come and speak to us,” he said.
“Any information, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem could prove crucial to our investigation.”
Maguiresbridge
A local Gaelic football club said the victims were all “active and beloved” members of their club.
Sara and James Rutledge also used to be part of a local cricket club, which said in a statement that it was “extremely saddened by the tragic events”.
“Both of them turned out to be talented young cricketers and two absolutely lovely-natured children,” the statement read.
Read more from Sky News:
Epping braces for another hotel protest
Pilots killed in Southend Airport crash named
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn said: “The news from Maguiresbridge is tragic and deeply distressing.
“My thoughts are with the victims, their relatives and the local community in Fermanagh.”
The scene was cordoned off by police following the shooting on Wednesday morning. Pic: Oliver McVeigh /PA Wire
Sinn Fein MP Pat Cullen has expressed her deep shock over the shooting.
“I’m also thinking of all the wee school friends of those two wee children and what that must feel like for all of them and how the next few days and weeks will be for everyone, particularly just at the beginning of the school holidays,” she said.
DUP MLA Deborah Erskine, who represents Co Fermanagh in the Northern Ireland Assembly, said that the community was “stunned” by the shooting in “a rural, quiet area”.
