Piketon, Ohio

Eight members of a family, including a mother sleeping in a bed with her 4-day-old baby next to her, were fatally shot in the head on Friday, leaving their rural town terrified and reeling while a manhunt was launched for whoever's responsible.

Three children, including the newborn, survived the grisly killings that left seven adults and a 16-year-old boy dead in four homes in Pike County, said Attorney General Mike DeWine and Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader. The economically distressed county in the Appalachian Mountain region has some 28,000 residents and is roughly 80 miles east of Cincinnati.

DeWine said there were no indications that any of the dead killed themselves, and Reader said if the shooter or shooters are at large, they should be considered armed and "extremely dangerous."

DeWine said, "There may be more than one, there may be three. We just don't know at this point."

Some of the victims were in bed, indicating they were shot while they were sleeping, authorities said. The victims were identified as members of the Rhoden family. Authorities said some, not all, were killed in bed.

"It's heartbreaking," DeWine said. "The one mom was killed in her bed with the 4-day-old right there."

A motive isn't clear, authorities said, but they urged other members of the Rhoden family to take precautions, and Reader advised all residents to stay inside and lock their doors Friday night.