Authorities: Parents and 3 children found dead in Abington home
“This appears to be an isolated incident — there is no current threat to public safety.”
Update:
Authorities have identified the deceased as: family members Deirdre Zaccardi, 40; Joseph Zaccardi, 43; Alexis Zaccardi, 11; and 9-year-old twins Nathaniel and Kathryn Zaccardi.
Abington Shooting Victims Identified pic.twitter.com/K180fAMlox
— DA Tim Cruz (@PlymouthCtyDAO) October 7, 2019
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Initial story:
Two adults and three children were found dead in an Abington condo Monday morning in what authorities are calling a “horrific” tragedy.
Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz said police and emergency responders were called to the condo at 135 Center Ave. around 7:30 a.m. when a family member went to the home and called 911 after discovering one of the adults bleeding on a couch on the first floor.
The relative had gone to the condo to pick up the three children for school, he said.
“It appears to be an incredibly terrible, terrible situation,” Cruz said.
The body of a 40-year-old woman was found first by authorities responding to the scene. The bodies of the remaining family members were then discovered — twin 9-year-olds, a boy and a girl; an 11-year-old girl; and a 43-year-old man. One of the adults was found on the first floor.
All the deaths appeared to be the result of gunshot wounds, Cruz said.
“This appears to be an isolated incident — there is no current threat to public safety,” he said during a press conference.
Abington Police Chief David Majenski (left) stands outside of the scene Monday.
Cruz and Abington Police Chief David Majenski said authorities were not aware of any ongoing domestic issues at the home and police had never been called to the condo for any reason.
“It is a crime, a crime occurred in that building and three little children are gone forever as a result of this,” Cruz said.
Authorities were still determining when the mother, father, and children died, and the incident remains under active investigation.
“When something unimaginable like this happens there’s always going to be more questions than answers,” Cruz said.
Majenski said it is the first time such a tragedy — the loss of an entire family — has occurred in Abington.
“It’s horrific circumstances, and it’s a tragedy all the way around, for the first responders, for the fire, for the police, for everyone responding,” he said. “It’s just a horrific event that nobody should ever see.”
Jessica Rinaldi / The Boston Globe
The district attorney’s office and police department did not release the name of the family, but the Abington School District released a statement on the deaths of the parents and the three children, who were students in the district.
“We are heartbroken to share with you that the Zaccardi Family, an Abington family, died unexpectedly last night,” Peter Schafer, the district superintendent, said in a statement. “There are three young students of this family in our district. At this time, we do not have any other details about what happened. This was an unexpected event, which deeply saddens all of us. This is a tragedy that will affect the entire Abington community.”
Grief counselors were being made available throughout the district.
On Monday afternoon, the DA’s office released a statement from family members of the victims in the shooting.
“Today our family has suffered an unfathomable loss,” the statement reads. “As we attempt to make sense of the enormity of this event, we respectfully ask that the media respect our family’s wishes to be left alone as we grieve our tremendous losses in private.”
Cruz called the death of the family a tragedy for the entire town and community.“Nobody’s prepared for this,” he said. “You’re not prepared to get a phone call that three little children’s lives have been taken and there’s other terrible things that have occurred. I don’t think anybody’s ever ready for that.”
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