Three Newport residents died Wednesday in “an apparent double murder-suicide” in Carteret County, according to the Carteret County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded to a home located at 548 Newport Loop Road around 9 a.m. Wednesday, according to a press release from CCSO. When they arrived, they found two men and one woman dead of gunshot wounds.

An initial investigation of the scene determined the home was shared by two sisters and their husbands, the release said. Detectives learned a physical altercation apparently started in the home between the two men, and the man who owns the home with his wife shot his brother-in-law and sister-in-law before turning the gun on himself.

All three were pronounced dead at the scene.

The fourth woman living in the home, the wife of the man believed to have fired the shots, was present during the incident and was not harmed, according to the release. CCSO Chief Deputy Franklin Fulcher said the wife made contact with a neighbor for help in contacting law enforcement.

“A neighbor ended up calling on her behalf,” Fulcher said.

The woman did not require medical attention or transportation due to the incident, Fulcher said.

Further details about the incident and the names of those involved are not being released at this time due in part to CCSO needing to contact the family’s next-of-kin, according to Fulcher. CCSO said in the release that there is no ongoing danger to the public.

Reporter Kevin Vandenburg can be reached at 910-219-8453 or kvandenburg@jdnews.com. For digital subscription information, click here.