Police: 4 Children Are Safe After Apparent Murder-Suicide

Three adults were killed in an apparent murder-suicide on Tuesday evening while four young children were inside the home, authorities in Florida said. The children were safely removed from the home after the shooting, Lakeland Police Capt. Ed Cain told reporters. The three dead adults all suffered gunshot wounds, the AP reports. Investigators did not immediately identify them or say whether any of them were related to the children. All four of the children are believed to be younger than 10 years old, Cain said. They were not injured.

"It's a very tragic situation on Christmas Eve that's going to impact a lot of families," Cain said. Mary LaRoy, a neighbor, said she is worried for the rescued children after they experienced the traumatic event, per WFTS. "Children, you know were taken out of the windows," LaRoy said. "Any time those children think about Christmas, they’re going to think about tonight."

(More murder-suicide stories.)