Authorities suspect Benjamin Charles Parker, 36, died by suicide after he was found in vehicle in Washington state
A man suspected of killing five people in rural Oregon was found dead in a suspected suicide, local law enforcement officials said on Sunday.
The five homicide victims were found on Saturday at a home in a rural community near Forest Grove, Oregon, about 30 miles (48km) outside Portland, when authorities responded to a report of a vehicle fire.
An unspecified number of domesticated animals were also found deceased at the home, authorities said.
The Washington county, Oregon, sheriff’s office identified 36-year-old Benjamin Charles Parker as the suspect. Local police found Parker dead in his vehicle in Enumclaw, Washington, about 45 miles outside Seattle. He is believed to have died by suicide, they said.
“In my 22 years here, I have not been a part of or witnessed a scene quite this complex,” Caprice Massey, Washington county’s sheriff, said.
Detectives do not believe the killings were a random act of violence, authorities said, without sharing much detail.
Investigators did not immediately publicly disclose the ages or genders of the victims, precisely how they died, or what possible connections they might have with one another.
At a news conference on Sunday afternoon, Shannon Wilde, a sheriff’s office detective, said the agency was still working to determine who the victims were.
“Any time you have one person deceased – let alone five – that’s a logistical challenge,” Wilde said.
Asked by reporters about the amount of time that passed between authorities first discovering the dead bodies and releasing information the following afternoon, Wilde said authorities were attempting to establish the victims’ identities and notify their next of kin before holding a news conference.
Wilde also said investigators were working on a “very active investigation with a lot of moving pieces” and wanted to ensure a responsible release of accurate information.
As of Monday, there had been at least 16 mass murders in the US so far for the year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonpartisan reference resource. The archive defines such cases in which four or more victims are murdered.
It was the US’s fourth mass murder since 7 August.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed reporting