Mother, four children found dead in apparent murder-suicide in Tennessee home

A mother and four children were found Monday night fatally shot in an apparent murder-suicide at a home in Tennessee, officials said.

A family member discovered the "horrible" scene Monday evening,

The bodies of the woman and four children, who ranged in age from 8 to 16, were discovered in their Columbia home by a family member. Maury County District Attorney Brent Cooper described it as an apparent murder-suicide.

“It looks horrible,” said Maury County Sheriff Bucky Rowland, whose office responded after the Maury County Fire Department was first called at about 6:20 p.m. CDT.

Rowland said investigators do not think a suspect is at large and said that the father "is also a victim of this." He didn't elaborate further. Investigators were at the scene Tuesday morning and interviewing surviving family members.

He said the children were homeschooled, and there hadn't been any known reports of domestic issues at the home.

Columbia is about 50 miles south of Nashville.