Eight dead, including two children, after 'execution-style killings'

Seven people have been shot dead today in "execution-style killings" in three homes along a rural Ohio road, US authorities said.

The victims, all said to be from the same family, included two children.

An eighth body was found later on Friday at a separate location, said Jill Del Greco, spokeswoman with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI).

No arrests have been made.

Attorney General Mike DeWine was expected to provide an update on the incident in Pike County later on Friday, she said.

Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader said authorities were trying to determine a motive, identify the victims and determine if the killer or killers were among the dead.

A dozen BCI agents were alerted to the shootings on Friday morning to Pike County, which is in a predominantly rural Appalachian Mountain region some 80 miles east of Cincinnati.