Police are investigating after five people were found shot dead inside a residence in North Carolina.

The bodies were reported to police just after midnight on Thursday in Clinton, North Carolina, according to a news release from the Sampson County Sheriff's Office. The 911 caller said they had spoken to one of the people who was killed at around 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The caller, who has not been identified, said they found the bodies because they stopped by the house on their way home, according to the news release.

The sheriff's office said that the deceased included one woman and four men. All had gunshot wounds. The five people were "of different races and ethnicities" and "ranged in age" from their 30s to their 80s, the sheriff's office said. It's not yet confirmed how the people are connected. The identities of the victims are being withheld until family members are notified, the sheriff's office said.

A person of interest has not been identified, according to the news release. 

Investigators from the sheriff's office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation are "processing the crime scene and following up on potential leads" in the case, the news release said. 

According to the news release, the deaths are "not believed to be connected" to two other incidents that took place in the area overnight. At around 1:40 a.m., an assault suspect was shot and killed by police after pointing a gun at officers responding to a disturbance call, according to CBS News affiliate WNCN. At 6:45 a.m., police were called to another home in the county, where a man was found dead with traumatic injuries consistent with an edged weapon, according to WNCN. 

"This morning has definitely been an unusual morning in Sampson County," Eric Pope, the Sampson County Sheriff's Office public information officer, told WNCN. "This is not normal for our community, it's not normal for any community, and it should shock the conscience."

In:
• Shooting
• Homicide
• North Carolina
• Murder
• Crime
• Shootings

Kerry Breen

Kerry Breen is a news editor and reporter for CBS News. Her reporting focuses on current events, breaking news and substance use.