Sheriff: 7 family members fatally shot in North Carolina

Seven members of the same family were fatally shot in North Carolina over the weekend, authorities said Monday.

The shooting happened late Sunday afternoon in the Moncure area of Chatham County, the county sheriff's office said in a statement. The suspect is among the dead, the statement said. Authorities said they're still investigating a possible motive.

The sheriff's office described the area as a quiet, close-knit community where violence is out of the norm. Moncure is a community about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southwest of Raleigh.

Lt. Sara Pack, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, didn't immediately respond to an email asking which of the deceased killed the others. The victims were identified as Jeanie Ray, 67, Helen Mason, 93; Ellis Mansfield, 73; Lisa Mansfield, 54; John Paul Sanderford, 41; Nicole Sanderford, 39; and Larry Ray, 66.

To lose any family member is devastating, but to lose several at once to unexpected violence is unimaginable," Sheriff Mike Roberson said in a statement. "There are no words to describe the sense of loss we feel as a community in the wake of this terrible event.