Maryland Dad Gunned Down His Three Children, Their Mom Before Shooting Himself Dead

Authorities have revealed the identities of five family members who were found dead in their own Maryland home as the result of a horrific murder-suicide massacre that happened last Friday.

Deputies responded to a house in the unit block of Hebron Court in Cecil County, Friday morning, after receiving reports of a shooting.

Responding officers found a man, a woman and three children lying in a pool of blood inside the home with each person apparently dead from gunshot wounds.

According to the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office, deputies found a semiautomatic handgun near the man's body.

The sheriff’s office has identified the deceased as 39-year-old Marcus Edward Milligan, 37-year-old Tara Devina Ricker Milligan, 14-year-old Teresa Milligan, 11-year-old Nora Milligan, and 8-year-old Finn Milligan.

While Marcus was found dead in the "detached garage" of the house, the rest of the family was found, deceased, in various rooms and both floors of the two-story home.

The children were reported to be fifth, seventh, and eighth grade students who were homeschooled, WBAL reported.

The local medical examiner conducted autopsies on the Milligan family and confirmed that all of them died from gunshot injuries.

According to reports, Marcus shot himself dead after gunning down his wife and three children.

"This is a tragic and terrible day for our county and our community," Cecil County Sheriff Scott Adams said during a news conference Friday afternoon. "Any time you have a loss to these levels -- any loss is terrible, but a loss of this level, which is not a common thing, it's certainly not a common thing here in Cecil County -- it's tragic and terrible and takes a long time for people to process."

The CCSO has not provided an update on the potential motive behind the gruesome slayings as of this writing. The investigation is said to be ongoing.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those impacted," the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.

Cecil County animal control officers responded to the scene and took custody of one dog and two cats.