DULUTH, Minn. – Police in Minnesota discovered absolute carnage after a mentally unstable man killed four family members and their dog before turning the gun on himself, according to reports.
Brandon Taylor Cole-Skogstad, 29, confessed on Facebook to murdering his uncle, aunt, two cousins and their dog while they slept Tuesday night, according to police.
The victims have been identified as Sean Christopher Barry, 47, Riana Lou Barry, 44, Shiway Elizabeth Barry, 12, and Sadie Lucille Barry, 9, all of Duluth, KBJR reported.
Cole-Skogstad reportedly wrote on Facebook that he killed all four relatives at their Minnesota home before turning the gun on himself Wednesday, according to police.
Hermantown police had been asked to conduct a welfare check on Cole-Skogstad. Relatives claimed he was in crisis and planned to kill family members, according to authorities.
Hermantown police then asked their counterparts in Duluth to check on the home where the family lived. However, the murders had already occurred by the time they arrived, authorities confirmed.
A SWAT team made entry into the home after hearing a final gunshot and discovered the slaughter, the New York Post reported.
Brandon Taylor Cole-Skogstad’s Facebook photo confirmed by immediate family member. (Image via FOX 21 in Duluth)
Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken said Cole-Skogstad confessed to the mass murder on Facebook prior to their arrival. In his writing, the homicide suspect said he made an “absolutely horrid choice.”
Cole-Skogstad wrote he “suffered many years of mental illness” but “almost never sought out help because I felt I never deserved it,” Tusken confirmed.
“It is a terribly traumatic event. … We all have really heavy hearts,” Tusken said, adding that it was the worst homicide case he’d seen in his 30-year career.
