PSNI
The three victims have been named as Vanessa Whyte and her son James and daughter Sara
A mother and two children killed in a suspected triple murder and attempted suicide in County Fermanagh have been named by police as Vanessa Whyte, her son James Rutledge and daughter Sara Rutledge.
They died after being shot at a house in Drummeer Road in Maguiresbridge on Wednesday.
Vanessa, a veterinary surgeon, was 45, Sara was 13 and James was 14, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said.
A man – who is a member of the same household – is being treated for serious injuries at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
Flowers have been left near the scene in County Fermanagh
At a press conference on Wednesday, a senior police officer said the investigation was at an early stage, but a suspected triple murder and attempted suicide was one line of inquiry for detectives.
On Thursday, Enniskillen Grammar said it was mourning “the loss of two vibrant and much valued pupils”.
“I know that our school community will hold each other close in this time of loss,” school principal Elizabeth Armstrong said in a statement.
The school said the children’s father is seriously ill in hospital in Belfast.
Police appealed for anyone who had spoken to Ms Whyte or her children in the past few weeks to contact them.
“If you are someone that Vanessa, Sara or James may have confided in, please come and speak to us,” Det Ch Insp Neil McGuinness said.
“Any information, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem could prove crucial to our investigation.”
‘They should be enjoying the school holidays’
Earlier, the area’s MP said the children were “part of the fabric of the community”.
“Two wee children have lost their lives and a mummy, when they just should be enjoying the school holidays and having a wonderful time,” Pat Cullen told the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme.
Police remain at the scene in Maguiresbridge on Thursday morning
Cullen said the community was “absolutely heartbroken”.
“They were really part of the community, part of the fabric of the community and how sadly they will all be missed by their wee friends and of course their mother will be sadly missed by this community as well,” the Sinn Féin MP said.
She said people should not speculate about what had happened.
“Let’s deal with the facts when they come out and when those facts are made known, then we can have conversations, but until then, it is really important with respect for the family, the wider community and the emergency services that we don’t speculate,” Cullen said.
Ulster Unionist peer Lord Elliott said the incident was devastating.
“The family is so local and because the wider family is so well known, it’s just devastating, people are really finding it difficult to get their head around this and that this actually happened,” he said.
Police remain at the scene on Thursday morning.
The road is likely to be closed for some time while officers continue to gather evidence, BBC News NI understands.
On Thursday, gardai (Irish police) said they were working with the PSNI.
“A Garda family liaison has been appointed to the family of the deceased,” it added.
‘Life moves slowly here’
Alan Lewis
Police described the scene as “harrowing” for emergency responders
Elaine Mitchell
BBC News NI South West Reporter
Reporting fromMaguiresbridge
This is a close-knit community.
It is such a rural, quiet place and life moves slowly here.
There’s a real sense of devastation in the village as people here wake up to this nightmare.
Some flowers have been left at the scene with a note saying: “We are heartbroken. May they rest in peace. You are in our prayers.”
Murder inquiry
The PSNI launched a murder inquiry on Wednesday.
At a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Supt Robert McGowan said no arrests had been made “it is not anticipated that they will be made”.
Supt McGowan said police received a call at 07:50 BST on Wednesday and officers from Enniskillen PSNI station went to the scene at a property on Drummeer Road.
“The alarm was raised, I believe, by a phone call made from the house,” he said.
The officer said the emergency services were confronted with a “harrowing scene” when they entered the home.
Supt McGowan said two of the victims were declared dead at the scene on Wednesday morning and a third died later in hospital in Enniskillen.
All three people died from gunshot wounds.
The man who is in hospital in Belfast has also suffered gunshot wounds.
Pacemaker
Supt Robert McGowan said he believed the emergency call was made from inside the house
The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said it received a call at 08:21 BST on Wednesday and sent three vehicles and the air ambulance to the scene.
Police officers helped ambulance staff to administer first aid in the house.
NI leaders ‘deeply saddened’ by deaths
Northern Ireland’s leaders released a joint statement on Wednesday night, thanking the emergency services who responded to the shooting.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said they were “deeply saddened” by what had happened.
Fermanagh Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) has offered its “heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those impacted” by the incident.
The three family members who died were each members of two GAA clubs in County Fermanagh.
St Mary’s Maguiresbridge Gaelic Football Club and St Patrick’s Hurling Club Lisbellaw described them as “active and beloved” members of their organisations.
Both clubs said they would “work closely with all appropriate services to ensure that those who require support at this difficult time can access it”.
Pat Cullen MP said the GAA have put their critical incident protocol in place, “so they will have their clubs open for those young people to come along”.
“Sometimes it is just sufficient to come along and sit around and have conversations, but they will have the appropriate services available to them and in the wider community, but it is also important for the emergency services to have support for them,” she said.
‘Two absolutely lovely natured children’
Enniskillen Cricket Club said it was “extremely saddened” by the events in Maguiresbridge.
Both children played cricket at school, the club said.
“Both of them turned out to be talented young cricketers and two absolutely lovely natured children,” the club said.
“In what is a hard time for our small community, we would ask everyone to pull together and support each other through these difficult times.”
A statement from a Church of Ireland’s Clogher Diocese said “the whole community has been shocked and saddened following the tragic shooting incident”.
“Our church community will be supporting family members in the difficult days that lie ahead and ask the public to respect their privacy at this time,” said the Very Reverend Kenneth Hall.
