Five people dead in North Carolina home, police say

Officials early Thursday morning found the bodies of five people in a home in Sampson County, North Carolina, law enforcement said. 

Four males and one female with ages ranging from mid-30s to 80s were discovered dead after a 911 call shortly after midnight Thursday, Capt. Eric Pope of the Sampson County Sheriff's Office said, according to local outlet WRAL.

The victims were of various racial and ethnic backgrounds, including black, white and Hispanic, he also said. 

"Anytime you have a murder in and of itself, it is a shock to the conscience. But when you have five victims in connection down the road ... this is not normal for our community," Pope said. He did not give any indication of how the people died, but several local outlets report that the victims were shot to death.

The incident occurred just outside of Clinton, which has a population of less than 8,300 people.

"It should shock the conscience and we hope that somebody out there who knows at least call us and gives us the information that we need so that we can bring these people to justice."

The bodies were found on the same day that police in Maine are searching for a person of interest in mass shootings in Lewiston. There is no indication that the two incidents are connected.

Follow Madeleine Hubbard on X or Instagram.