Minnesota man kills wife, ex-partner and two sons before killing himself | Minnesota

A Minnesota man shot and killed his wife and son, as well as his ex-partner and their son, before killing himself, authorities said Friday.

Duluth police have not determined a motive, but Police Chief Mike Ceynowa said at a news conference that the shooter, named as 46-year-old Anthony Nephew, was “prone to mental health issues.”

The murders that occurred Thursday were the type of crime that has been called “family annihilation” since the 1980s. Thursday's killings were the 25th mass killing in the U.S. this year, according to the nonpartisan Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass killing as one in which four or more victims are killed.

The first officers were called to a home shortly after 2 p.m. on Thursday, police said. They found Erin Abramson, 47, and Jacob Nephew, 15, dead from apparent gunshot wounds. Abramson and Anthony Nephew were previously involved in a relationship, Ceynowa said.

Later Thursday, police identified Anthony Nephew as a suspect and surrounded his home. When they entered, officers found the bodies of him, his 45-year-old wife Kathryn and their seven-year-old son Oliver.

Police said Anthony Nephew apparently shot himself.

Duluth, a city of nearly 90,000 residents, is located about 135 miles (217 km) north of Minneapolis.

For this type of crime, there is no central database that could provide information about its characteristics or frequency. However, the vast majority of these cases involve a male murderer armed with a gun who kills himself after murdering several close family members.

The steady recurrence of mass killings in the United States has led many in the country to call for greater federal gun control. However, Congress was unable or unwilling to implement such measures.

The Associated Press contributed reporting