In a tragic incident, 4 members of an Indian family were found dead in their house in Des Moines, the capital city of Iowa. Relatives who had been staying with the family as guests found the victims with gunshot wounds. The police have identified the deceased as 44-year-old Lavanya Sunkara, 41-year-old Chandrasekhar Sunkara, and two boys aged 15 and 10 years. West Des Moines police Sgt. Dan Wade said: “This tragedy will impact family, friends, co-workers, anyone that knew this family. We are continuing to work through this investigation. We will follow through until we have answered as many questions as the evidence allows." He also reported that there was no threat to the community.

The police also said: “Two adults and two children, were staying as guests. When the victims were discovered, one of the survivors ran outside looking for help. He found someone walking in the neighbourhood and that person called 911.” Gunshots were found on all four members but autopsies will indicate the exact cause of death.

Chandrasekhar Sunkara was employed at the Iowa Department of Public Safety's Technology Service Bureau and Lavanya Sunkara was a software engineer.