GRAND FORKS, N.D. — A mother and her three children were found dead Thursday inside a northeastern North Dakota home, and police said their deaths were apparent homicides and a suicide.

Police said 35-year-old Astra Volk and her children, 14-year-old Tyler Talmage, 10-year-old Aidan Talmage and 6-year-old Arianna Talmage all had gunshot wounds. A handgun was found at the scene in Grand Forks and no suspects were being sought.

Police went to the home Thursday morning after administrators at Lewis and Clark Elementary School asked police to check on the family. The responding officer saw what appeared to be a body inside the home on Grand Forks’ south side and went in.

Grand Forks Public Schools said in a statement that families were notified and it was working with the schools the children attended to provide support and counseling to students and staff.

Paula Stevens, 58, who lives two doors down from the house where the four were found, said the family had moved into the house just a couple months ago.

“Three little kids and their mom — oh my goodness,” she said.

Stevens said the house “sat empty forever” until it was recently renovated and the woman was living there as a renter. Stevens said she rarely saw the family because the woman worked odd hours and the long winter kept the kids indoors.

“This is scary,” Stevens said. “Now I want to watch out for my neighbors and make sure they’re OK.”

Stevens and others described the neighborhood as a safe, quiet residential area. The house where the family was found was surrounded by crime tape on Thursday. The garage door was opened more than halfway, and a pink child’s bicycle was overturned in the yard.

“It’s a little frightening because Grand Forks is supposed to be like a safe town, a place where you can keep your doors unlocked,” said Caralyne Ronai, a senior at the University of North Dakota who was walking through the neighborhood. “Four dead is upsetting to hear.”

TROUBLES REPORTED

The Forum News Service reported that a troubled picture had emerged of the Volk household. Just over a week ago, Volk had posted a plea for monetary assistance to fundraising site GoFundMe, seeking help in a post titled “Living expenses due to medical bills.”

In the post, Volk said she and her two sons “suffer from mental illness, bi-polar, manic depression, autism” and that all had been “hospitalized for this.”

“I work full time but my wages have recently been garnished for medical bills,” she wrote. “I’m looking for help with 1 month’s bills to help get on our feet and look for a second job. I am trying to stay positive so I do not end up back in the hospital.” Related Articles Two men face felony charges in Bloomington home invasion

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Volk, who said on social media that she worked at Cirrus Aircraft, said the family was getting help from food pantries.

Court records show Volk had been in civil court three times in the past year for collections totaling to $3,700.

Neighbors believed she was living alone with the children and was separated from her husband and their father.