Two women and three girls found dead in Arkansas home

Two women and three girls have been found dead in a home in north-west Arkansas in a suspected multiple homicide.

Deputies responded to a call at around 5pm on Friday and found the five people dead in a home in Atkins about 65 miles (105 kilometres) north-west of Little Rock, Pope County sheriff Shane Jones said in a statement. The dead were between 8 and 50 years old and are all believed to have been related, he said.

Jones said during a news conference on Saturday that the suspect was believed to be among the dead, ABC news reported.

“It’s rare anywhere,” Jones said of the case. “We just need to pray for a family that’s just been devastated.”

Deputies are investigating the deaths with the help of the Arkansas state police. A spokesman for the sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to questions.

“At this time, we believe this to be an isolated incident, and do not feel that there is any continued danger to the local public,” the Pope County sheriff’s office said in a statement.