A married father shot dead his two young children before turning the gun on himself, police have said.

A 36-year-old man named locally as chiropractor Justin Bohn was found dead with a gunshot wound alongside his three-year-old son and five-year-old daughter, who had also been shot.

The man's wife, believed to be fellow chiropractor Amanda Bohn, was not at the Wisconsin Rapids home at the time.

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A man named locally as Justin Bohn ( pictured with his wife Amanda and two children) shot his two children, aged three and five, before killing himself

Bohn (pictured with his children) sent his brother an email saying goodbye to his family shortly before he and his children were found dead

The father's motive is not known, but Bohn had recently posted an article on Facebook called 'Emotional Abandonment: Shut out by your spouse'

Police are yet to confirm the identities of the dead, but the Bohns live at the house and their business is registered at the property.

Police were called to the home at 3am on Wednesday after Bohn sent his brother an email saying goodbye to his family, according to a police report seen by the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune.

Weapons were found inside the home, the police report said, and there was a strong smell of natural gas inside the house.

Cops are treating the three deaths as a murder-suicide. Autopsies are due to take place in the coming days.

The father's motive is not known, but Bohn had recently posted an article on Facebook called 'Emotional Abandonment: Shut out by your spouse'.

It is not known where Mrs Bohn, 31, was at the time of the shooting.

Cops are treating the three deaths as a murder-suicide. Autopsies are due to take place in the coming days. Pictured, Bohn and his family

It is not known where Mrs Bohn (pictured), 31, was at the time of the shooting early on Wednesday morning

Several police cars were seen outside the property on Wednesday as forensics officers combed the two-story home.

Wisconsin Rapids Mayor Zach Vruwink, who knew Mrs Bohn, said: 'They were such a beautiful family and children. That's what touches me the most - that it's taken the lives of children.'

Douglas Machon, a Wood County board member for Wisconsin Rapids, said the shooting 'made no sense at all'.

'You never want to hear things like this happening, especially in your community so close to home,' he said.

'It's heart-wrenching. You have to try and understand what drives people to do these things,' he added.

Wood County Board member Douglas Machon, who represents the neighborhood where the bodies were found, said he was heartbroken after learning of the killings.

'You never want to hear things like this happening, especially in your community so close to home,' Machon said in an interview. 'It's heart-wrenching. You have to try and understand what drives people to do these things. They seem to make no sense at all.'

Family members declined to comment to the Tribune.

Jennie Schott, who used to work with Bohn at a Best Buy, set up a GoFundMe page for Mrs Bohn to help her pay funeral costs.

'Justin Bohn was not only a coworker but family to each and every one of us,' she wrote on the page.

'I am putting together this GoFundMe to raise money for Amanda to offset some of the costs of the funerals and burials of her family. She will need help getting back on her feet after this tragedy.

'Justin was a great man - always willing to help and support you. He will be greatly missed by many.