Police in South Carolina discovered six dead bodies — including two children — after an apparent murder-suicide earlier this week.

According to WSPA, Greenwood County SWAT responded to a home on Tuesday after receiving a 911 call from a suspected gunman who told operators that he wanted to hurt himself. A neighbor later called 911 to say that four children had fled from the home after a series of gunshots.

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Believing that there was a hostage situation, SWAT officers attempted to make contact with the gunman inside the home for more than two hours before entering to find six dead bodies: two males, two females, a boy and a girl. Both of the children were around the age of 10.

Police believe that the shooting began as a domestic dispute between the gunman, who was among the dead, and his girlfriend. Authorities had not confirmed the identity of the gunman, but WSPA reported that he had a prior arrest record.

At a news briefing on Tuesday, Greenwood County Sheriff Tony Davis told reporters that the 911 caller had warned that he was feeling “edgy” and was going to harm himself.

“It’s just a situation that takes your heart,” Davis said. “Your heart has to go out to all of the family members and everyone involved in some point, not in a law enforcement capacity, but in some point or another we know all these individuals.”

Watch this video from WSPA, broadcast Oct. 30, 2013.

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WSPA

[Photo credit: Angry man points handgun via Shutterstock]