EMMETT TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Police are investigating after a Calhoun County deputy and his wife were found shot to death at their home Sunday morning.
Emmett Township police chief Mike Olson told FOX 17 that at 7:51 a.m. Sunday a 12-year-old boy called 9-1-1 after finding the couple dead in the backyard of their home on McAllister Road in Emmett Township. Police said the boy was the couple's son.
Once on scene, officers found a man and woman both dead from gunshot wounds.
"It appears each was shot one time," Olson said, adding that a handgun had also been found at the scene.
"Ugly. I would just have to say it was an ugly, unfortunate scene."
A neighbor told FOX 17 they heard gunshots around 1 a.m. and thought they heard a woman scream. The couple's two children were home when the shooting happened, along with two of the children’s friends for a sleepover, the neighbor said.
"We did not think anything like this would ever happen," the neighbor told FOX 17. "We assumed maybe it was fireworks and the kids were out there playing around because I heard screaming and then we waited and all the lights went off and I figured hopefully they went to bed."
Calhoun County Sheriff Matt Saxton said the deputy involved had served with the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office for 18 years.
"The Sheriff's Office is greatly saddened for the family and will do everything we can to assist after this tragedy," he said. "We are offering employee assistance to any and all of our employees as this is a devastating loss."
FOX 17 is not releasing the names of the victims because some families members have not yet been notified.
An autopsy will be conducted Monday in Kalamazoo, according to Olson.
Olson would not say how investigators were characterizing the incident, but said there is no threat to the public.
"We have determined there is no need for the community to be afraid of a suspected killer running loose," he said.
FOX 17s Josh Sidorowicz and Rebecca Russell contributed to this report.
