Tragedy struck in Arizona when a man fatally shot his daughter and her two young children before ending his own life.

On October 16, authorities in Pima, with support from other law enforcement agencies, discovered the bodies of four individuals at a residence. The victims included 31-year-old Justice Jones and her children, aged 8 and 10, alongside her father, Duane Michael Jones, who was 64. According to the Gila Herald, the firearm remained with Jones when police arrived at the scene.

Family member Brenda Flores confirmed the identities of the victims to KPHO, identifying the children as Kyle, 10, and Tyme, 8.

“I just hope that all of them… I hope they were asleep and that none of them witnessed or felt any fear before it happened,” expressed Flores.

While the motive behind Jones’s actions remains unclear, Flores speculated that underlying mental health issues might have driven him to commit such a horrific act, suggesting, “because anyone with a sane mind, this isn’t something that you’d do.”