Four people are found shot to death in wheat field, North Dakota cops say

The discovery of four bodies in a wheat field has spurred a triple murder-suicide investigation in a rural North Dakota community, officials say.

Deputies in Towner County responded on Monday, Aug. 29, to reports of “four unresponsive individuals” in the field, according to the sheriff’s office. When they arrived, they found all four dead with gunshot wounds.

A gun was found next to one of the individuals, the sheriff’s office said. Evidence from the scene indicates the shooting was a murder-suicide and there is no threat to the public.

The names of the victims have not been released.

The Towner County Sheriff’s Office and North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation are investigating the deaths.

Towner County, in northeast North Dakota, has a population of about 2,100.

“Anytime something tragic like this happens in a rural area, it hits a little harder because everybody knows everybody and if you don’t know them, you know somebody who does,” Sheriff Andrew Hillier told KFGO.

This story was originally published August 30, 2022 at 2:03 PM with the headline "Four people are found shot to death in wheat field, North Dakota cops say."