Four people have been found dead in a house following a suspected firearms incident, police said today.
The bodies of one man and three females were found inside a semi-detached house in Greenside Avenue, Peterlee, after officers were alerted shortly before 11.45pm yesterday, Durham Police said.
A spokesman said all four are related or known to each other and at this stage they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths. A shotgun was found lying next to the man's body.
Durham Police said officers were alerted by a caller reporting that a number of people had been shot inside the property.
Firearms officers were quickly deployed to the scene and when they entered the property they discovered four bodies - one male, three female - in different rooms in the downstairs of the house. Paramedics confirmed all four were dead at the scene.
The man is believed to be in his early 40s and while the ages of the female victims have not yet been established, it is thought the youngest was in her teens.
A fifth person, a woman thought to be related to one of the victims, is being treated for shotgun injuries at North Tees Hospital in Stockton.
She was found by police at another house in the street shortly after officers arrived in Greenside Avenue. Her wounds are not thought to be life-threatening, Durham Police said.
The area has been cordoned off since shortly after midnight and police say the house will be subjected to a forensic examination.
It is expected to be some time before police are able to formally identify those who have died.
An incident room is being set up at police headquarters in Durham staffed by officers from the force's major crime team led by the senior investigating officer, Detective Superintendent Paul Goundry.
One resident of Greenside Avenue, who did not want to be identified, said it was a quiet area and she was shocked by the news.
"I am shocked and stunned by this. This is just awful. Nothing happens in our street," she said.
Local Labour councillor Paul Stradling said it was the most shocking incident he had come across in 30 years as a politician.
He said: "I have had a few phone calls this morning asking if I was aware of it - it's terrible news.
"Greenside Avenue is normally a very quiet area of the village so it has shocked everybody.
"It's a typical North East village, quiet most of the time with a little bit of anti-social behaviour but crime levels are usually low.
"I will be out and about today and am waiting for further reports from the local police inspector."
Durham police said the 19-year-old woman who was admitted to hospital had been discharged.
"A 19-year-old woman who was admitted to hospital in Stockton with shotgun injuries following the shooting has been discharged after treatment as her injuries were found to be minor," a spokeswoman said.
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