This is the first picture of a Utah family torn apart when four of them were killed by a teenage relative in a mass shooting.
One devastated member of the family, Danny Haynie, has revealed his heartache after his mother, two younger sisters and a younger brother were killed in the shooting which also injured his father at their home in Grantsville on Friday evening.
A poignant family photo showing the seemingly close-knit seven-member Haynie family smiling at the camera has emerged in the aftermath of the tragedy – in the last publicly available post on the surviving eldest son’s Facebook page.
Dated August 15, 2019, the picture shows the large family at a football game and 24-year-old Mr Haynie with his arms around his younger sister and brother. His parents, can be seen smiling, as two other children in the foreground also smile at the camera, against the backdrop of a football pitch.
In a recent post on Twitter, Mr Haynie, who was not home at the time of the shooting thanked the public for their support, whilst sharing his grief at the tragedy that struck his family.
‘Always keep your loved ones close to you, my friends. Always let them know that you love them, even if it seem redundant. You never know when your last interaction with someone might be your last,’ he said.
Grantsville Mayor Brent Marshall confirmed that the four victims and the shooter, a male, are family members, but did not specify their exact relationship to each other, according to Deseret News.
The Haynie family pictured less than six months before their death smiling happily at a football game. The Haynie parents can be seen on the (left) with the two younger boys in the middle. Danny Haynie, who was not home when the shooting happened, can be seen with his arms round his younger brother and sister
Danny Haynie expressed his gratitude to the public for their support as he grapples with the loss of his family
Police said, late on Friday evening, that the suspected shooter was taken into custody and that there was no threat to the public.
Police are waiting to reveal the identity of the victims until their family members have been notified, which they are in the process of doing.
‘It’s an unfortunate tragedy that has taken place here this evening,’ Marshall told reporters at the scene, adding that ‘I’m sure it will take days or even longer to try and piece together what brought all of this one and why it happened, if we ever get to know why it happened.’
Four family members are dead and a fifth relative wounded following a shooting at a home in Grantsville, Utah, Friday night. Grantsville Police Cpl. Rhonda Fields is pictured here on the street where the shooting occurred
Police were seen outside the home where the shooting occurred as the investigation goes on
Police blocked off the entire street surrounding the home where the shooting occurred Friday
Police towed a grey car (center) connected with the shooting from the parking lot of the hospital where the injured victim was taken late Friday night
He said that ‘This is normally a very quiet neighborhood, and any time you have children involved in something, it becomes very emotional, very fast.’
The shooting suspect is reported to be a teenager and was said to have been taken to the hospital, before being taken into custody.
Police told FOX 13 that a car connected to the fatal shooting investigation was towed from the hospital parking lot later Friday night.
The shooting victim was taken to the Mountain West Medical Center in nearby Tooele, Utah
The shooting was said to have occurred at a home on this ‘small’ street in Grantsville
Grantsville Police Cpl. Rhonda Fields said that multiple agencies responded to the scene and that neighbors had heard gunshots, according to Deseret News.
She said it was unclear whether the police were called about a suspected homicide at the home by someone who was inside the house or by a neighbor.
Utah governor Gary Herbert tweeted that ‘Our hearts are broken by the horrible news coming out Grantsville tonight. We mourn over the loss of innocent lives.’
He also tweeted: ‘Parents and grandparents, secure your firearms! Everyone, hug your loved ones tight. And remember love, not hate, will heal broken individuals and families.’
Fields noted that the shooting was ‘very uncommon behavior for our small city, for our neighborhoods’ and that although it happened on ‘a small street’ and at one home, ‘it’s a large scene.’
Police care are pictured near the scene of the suspected homicide. Neighbors said they heard gunshots, although it’s unclear if the call to police came from neighbors or inside the home
The family has been described by those who knew them on social media as kind, giving.
One neighbor, who said he lived two doors down from the family, said the tragic event had hit his family hard.
‘They have always been so kind and giving to us, always showing us by example how to serve and love your neighbors and friends,’ he said.
‘Continue to pray for them and reach out to them, but also if you have any means to help them at all, please do so now.
‘I can’t imagine the grief they are going through and this is just one small way we can ease their burdens and show them we are behind them, whether we are near or far.’
A fundraiser for the family has been set up on Facebook, with a public vigil planned for Monday evening.
One woman on Facebook shared details of the vigil which was planned for the city park, across from the local high-school.
‘Please bring candles if you have them anything else you wish and a heart full of only love to share and express,’ she wrote.
The fundraiser has so far raised more than $63,000 for the surviving family members.