Police are on the hunt after discovering three women shot to death in a single home in Ohio.
The murder investigation was launched in the wake of the grim discovery Saturday night at a Columbus home where all three victims were pronounced dead.
Shortly before 4 p.m., a call came in tipping off police to a situation at the home, from a person who said they found the women in medical distress.
“We are investigating the manner of death to determine what actually happened before we release that information,” said Columbus Police Sgt. James Fuqua, as all three victims remained unnamed Sunday.
“It’s a shame when anyone loses their life, but especially at this time of year during the holidays,” the officer added, revealing that it was not drugs that claimed the women’s lives, and that the department found all three treats the deaths as murder.
He went on to describe the crime scene as ‘very complex’, admitting that police at the time were still trying to determine the manner of death. He further revealed that the tipster is not a suspect and admitted that, as it stands, no arrests have been made.
“It’s going to take a little bit longer to make sure that we’re very careful and go over the scene very carefully so that we don’t miss any important pieces of evidence,” the officer said, providing some details.
“It is very unusual to have so many victims in one incident,” he added, as city police continue to try to identify a suspect. No one had been named as of Sunday afternoon.
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Police are on the hunt after the discovery of three women shot to death in a single home in Ohio on Saturday. Here you can see the cordoned off crime scene on the south side of the city
The murder investigation was launched in the wake of the grim discovery, made at a Columbus home where all three women were pronounced dead
Footage from the scene Monday night shows officers descending on the modest residence, located on the city’s more suburban south side.
The investigation into the cordoned off crime scene continued well into the night, although the results of that part of the investigation remain unknown for now.
Initially, a Columbus public safety dispatcher told CBS affiliate 10TV that the emergency call from the victims’ unidentified friend came in as a shooting report.
However, police quickly dismissed that story, saying in a statement that evening that they were still investigating other causes of death.
On Sunday afternoon, investigators confirmed that all three women had been shot, but provided no update on their identities.
The home in question is located in the 1300 block of South Ohio Avenue, near a popular park frequented by locals.
In their statement Sunday, officers added that they were still trying to determine what led up to the incident, as reports indicate the incident is the second shooting on Columbus’ south side in a week.
Another incident occurred Tuesday a few blocks away on East Moler Street, leaving a 45-year-old homeowner, Darrell Hambrick, with a gunshot wound in his front yard.
“We are investigating the manner of death to determine what actually happened before we release that information,” said Columbus Police Sgt. James Fuqua, as all three victims remained unnamed Sunday
He called the crime scene “very complex” and admitted at the time that police were still determining the trio’s cause of death.
Community members like Jeff Frentz (pictured outside the cordoned-off crime scene Saturday night) said they have never seen this type of crime — an apparent triple homicide — before
Fuqua added of the investigation, “There are so many moving parts because obviously investigators aren’t exactly sure of everything… they want to make sure they have a complete picture in their mind of what actually happened…. That makes it so very complicated’
He later died of his injuries after being taken to Grant Medical Center in critical condition.
No suspects had been arrested in this case either. Details about what led to that shooting were not immediately provided.
As for the more recent incident, community members like Jeff Frentz said they have never seen this type of crime — an apparent triple homicide — before.
“Except for car accidents, here are a few, but nothing that traumatic. So yeah, that’s quite a shock,” Frentz said NBC-4 while police surveyed the area around him.
“It’s a shame that whoever was injured or killed has families, mothers and fathers.”
Sergeant Fuqua added of the ongoing investigation, “There are so many moving parts because investigators obviously aren’t exactly sure of everything… they want to make sure they have a complete picture in their mind of what actually happened.”
‘That makes it so extraordinarily complicated.’ He added that investigators were interviewing witnesses and looking for video evidence.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Columbus Police for more information.
The relationship between the victims and whether they all lived in the home remains unclear.