Investigators in Webster County say a recently divorced man killed his two young sons and then killed himself.

It happened in the 1200 block of S. White Oak Road just outside Marshfield.

Sheriff Roye Cole said a passerby called in a fire at the house at about 2 a.m. Sunday. Fire crews arrived and, when they got into the house, found the three bodies in a bedroom. Cole said the boys were five and seven years old. The children attended school in Springfield.

Cole said it appears that the man set fire to the house before he shot himself to death. Investigators found four points of origin for the fires, which also burned three cars and a barn. Gasoline cans were found at the scene, which investigators say appeared to have been used to start and spread the fires.

Authorities have not yet released the name of the man or the children, but Cole said the man and his wife were divorced just last week. He was caring for his young sons while their mother was at a church camp.

Cole added that it is the worst incident he's seen in his nine years as sheriff.

Marshfield residents are also finding the incident shocking and saddening. Many of them are finding it difficult to understand such a horrible crime.

"I don't know why someone would want to do something like that, especially to a kid. I mean, what has a kid ever done They're still so young. They haven't had the chance to really do anything with their lives yet," Jake Smith said.

"I've got grandkids that age. That's just not fair. It's just not right," Donna Smoot said.

The investigation is ongoing.