A family of four and their three dogs were found fatally shot inside their home in a quiet suburban neighborhood in Illinois.
Police say they’re investigating the deaths as possible murders, but no suspect has been publicly identified.
Alberto Rolon, 38, and Zoraida Bartolomei, 32, and their two sons, ages 10 and 7, were found dead in their home in Romeoville alongside their three dogs Sunday night.
A concerned family member called police to do a welfare check when one of the parents did not show up for work and did not respond to phone calls throughout the day, Romeoville police said in a statement.
Responding officers found the family dead with gunshot wounds. The shooting likely occurred the previous night between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., police said.
Speaking at a press conference Monday, deputy chief Chris Burne said authorities are not considering the incident a murder-suicide. Police also found the family’s three dogs dead inside the home, Burne said.
Police say they’re seeking a suspect, but that there is likely no threat to the area.
Neighbors told reporters that the family only moved to the neighborhood this spring, and that they mostly kept to themselves.
Carol Love, who lives next door, told the Chicago Sun-Times that she last spoke with Bartolomei on Friday.
“It’s so sad. They were nice people. They didn’t bother anybody,” Love said. “I hope they find out who did it.”
Multiple neighbors told the Sun-Times and CBS Chicago that they did not hear gunshots coming from the home.
In a statement following the family’s death, Rachel Kinder, the superintendent of the Valley View School District, where the children were enrolled, said the boys lost their lives a result of a “senseless act of gun violence.”
“This violent incident and loss are sure to raise many emotions, concerns, and questions for our entire school community,” Kinder said.
Bartolomei’s sister shared a link on social media to a fundraiser created to help pay for funeral expenses.
“These were hardworking people that had just bought their first home. Their kids were the sweetest most innocent angels who could hug your worries away,” the GoFundMe reads. “In just a few hours their lives, their family’s lives completely changed. The world is going to be a much dimmer place without them.”
