Family of 4, including 2 children, shot dead along with 3 pets in Illinois: police

A family of four were found dead with gunshots wounds on Sunday evening at their home in Romeoville, Illinois, a small village approximately 30 miles southwest of Chicago.

The bodies were discovered when the Romeoville Police Department responded to a request for a well-being check at the residence, authorities said in a statement.

"A member of the family did not show up for work at 6 am on the morning of Sunday, September 17 and did not respond to phone calls throughout the day, resulting in family members becoming concerned," the statement reads.

When police arrived at the location, they discovered four deceased individuals - two adults and two children - with gunshot wounds, authorities reported. In a press conference on Monday, police said the bodies of three dogs, who had been fatally shot, were also recovered.

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Ongoing investigation

While the investigation into this incident is in its early stages, police say the preliminary investigation led them to believe the incident occurred between 9 p.m. Saturday evening and 5 a.m. Sunday morning.

In the press conference, Chris Burne, Deputy Chief of the Romeoville Police Department, said the department is investigating the incident as a murder.

"We don't believe that the offender is among the victims right now," Burne said. "It is not a murder-suicide."

Burne said that police are "not actively looking" for suspects in the area, and that residents don't need to shelter in place.

"There is no ongoing threat due to the time frame that has gone by, more than 18 hours from the time we were contacted," Burne shared.

Police shut down the street to investigate and removed several pieces of evidence, including a computer hard drive, FOX 32 Chicago reported.

The deceased have been identified as Alberto Rolon and Zoralda Bartolomei. The children have not been named.

The police have also requested that anyone with information contact the Romeoville Police Department at 815-886-7219.

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Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.