Eight members of a family, including five children, are dead after authorities said they found them shot in an apparent murder-suicide inside a rural Utah home on Wednesday.
Police officers made the discovery while conducting a welfare check at the home in Enoch City, according to a statement by local officials in the agricultural city northeast of Utah’s border with Nevada and Arizona, about 245 miles south of Salt Lake City.
On Thursday, Enoch City Police identified the shooting suspect as 42-year-old Michael Haight.
“Evidence suggests that the suspect took his own life after killing seven others in the home,” officials released in an updated statement to USA TODAY.
Two other adults in the home were identified as Haight’s wife, Tausha Haight, 40, and Tausha’s mother, 78-year-old Gail Earl. The other five victims were identified as the shooting suspect’s children: a 17-year-old girl, 12-year-old girl, 7-year-old girl, 7-year-old boy and a 4-year-old boy.
Enoch City Manager Rob Dotson said the community was sent reeling by news of the eight bodies and that the victims, all members of one family, were well known in the southern Utah town.
“Many of us have served with them in church, in the community and gone to school with these individuals,” Dotson said in a video statement Wednesday night.
He said investigators with the Enoch Police Department and Iron County are among some of the agencies working together to determine what took place inside the home.
“This community at this time is hurting. They’re feeling loss, they’re feeling pain and they have a lot of questions,” Dotson added.
The five children attended schools in the Iron County School District, officials said in a letter sent to parents.
White House response
The White House on Thursday released the following statement:
“The President and First Lady are mourning with the Enoch City, Utah community in the wake of a tragic shooting that has reportedly claimed the lives of five children and multiple adults in their family home.
Too many Americans have lost loved ones or had their lives forever changed due to gun violence, and gun violence remains the leading cause of death for children in America. Less than one month after we marked 10 years since the Sandy Hook tragedy, another mass shooting has claimed the lives of five more children in Enoch City.”
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Enoch, off Interstate 15 in rural Utah, just north of the city of Cedar City and some 80 miles west of Bryce Canyon National Park, had major flooding in 2021 that caused damage at hundreds of homes.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox offered condolences in a tweet Wednesday night.
“Our hearts go out to all those affected by this senseless violence. Please keep the community of Enoch in your prayers,” Cox wrote.
If you or someone you know needs support for mental health, suicidal thoughts or substance abuse call, text or chat:
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988 and 988lifeline.org
BlackLine: 800-604-5841 and callblackline.com
Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860 and translifeline.org
Veterans Crisis Line: Dial 800-273-8255 and press 1 to talk to someone or send a text message to 838255 to connect with a VA responder. You can also start a confidential online chat session at Veterans Crisis Chat. veteranscrisisline.net
Contributing: Joey Garrison and the Associated Press
Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
