A mother in Minnesota allegedly killed her two children before fatally shooting herself, officials said on Monday.
Emma LaRoque, 28, and her two children were found dead in a home in Ogema, a rural city roughly 60 miles northeast of Fargo, N.D., after authorities received a report about a “possible incident,” the Becker County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a news release.
LaRoque’s death was ruled a suicide, while her children — Shane Woods, 9, and Frederick York, 4, — both “died of homicidal violence,” according to the office.
LaRoque’s father, Mike, is the director of public safety for the White Earth Nation tribe, according to the Star Tribune.
A neighbor told the news outlet she saw the mother and her two children at a tribal meeting a couple of weeks ago.
A healing ceremony was held for the family at a tribal community center on Monday, Valley News Live reported. According to friends, the three deaths have “the whole tribe feeling like they got sucker punched in the stomach.”
Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said it is investigating.
