"Shocking scene": Deputies find 4 bodies, then shoot suspect trying to kill girl

Portland, Ore. — A rural Oregon man killed four members of his family at the home they shared and was shot by sheriff's deputies as he tried to kill a girl, authorities said. Mark Leo Gregory Gago, 42, killed his parents, his girlfriend and their infant daughter Saturday night before deputies shot him, the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said.

The victims were not shot, The Oregonian reported. Neighbor Alice Burch told CBS affiliate KOIN-TV one of the weapons used was an ax.

"It was like an ax with a hammer head on it, a long-handled type hatchet hammer," Burch said. "He stared whaling on her with whatever he was using."

KOIN-TV reports the victims were identified as:

• 9-month-old Olivia Lynn Rose Gago
  
• 31-year-old Shaina E. Sweitzer
  
• 64-year-old Pamela Denise Bremer
  
• 66-year-old Jerry William Bremer
  

Sheriff's Office Sgt. Brian Jensen said the causes of death will be investigated.

"We're not sure what was used at this time," Jensen told reporters near the scene Sunday. "I've been told that there were numerous weapons, swords, things of that nature in the residence. The investigators are trying to determine what exactly was used to kill each person."

The home is about 20 miles south of Portland and northeast of the city of Woodburn.

The sheriff's office took an emergency call from a resident of a home at about 10:15 p.m. Saturday. The caller described a violent and hectic scene, Jensen said. Arriving deputies found a "horrific" situation, Jensen said.

KOIN-TV reports that at that time, "the suspect was in the process of killing a child," Jensen said. Deputies then shot the suspect to death "and saved the child."

"I've talked to investigators, 20-year veterans, and they're saying this is a shocking scene," Jensen said.

They found a woman dead outside the home and Gago attacking the child. The 8-year-old child was Sweitzer's daughter from a previous relationship.

A roommate also survived. She suffered what deputies described as injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening. She was being treated at a hospital.

Gago had been arrested in August on a weapons charge. Jensen said by email that Gago was booked on a charge of unlawful possession of a weapon. He did not have details on the circumstances of the arrest or disposition of the case.