Story highlights Two children and two women were killed

Troy pastor: "The entire city is really traumatized'

(CNN) Two people have been arrested in the "horrific" murders of two women and two children in Troy, New York.

James W. White, 38, and Justin C. Mann, 24, were each charged with one count of first-degree murder and four counts of second-degree murder, Troy Police Department Capt. Daniel DeWolf told CNN.

James W. White, left, and Justin C. Mann

The victims -- Brandi Mells, 22, Shanta Myers, 36, and Myers' children Shanise, 5, and Jeremiah, 11 -- were found dead in a basement apartment on Tuesday in what police called a "horrific" homicide that shook the upstate New York city.

Police haven't released details of the killings, but Troy Police Chief John Tedesco said earlier this week that he couldn't describe the "savagery" of the killer. "I don't know of a word that can say it," Tedesco told reporters.

The two women were in a relationship, Tedesco said. A property manager in the upstate New York city alerted police after finding the four in a basement apartment.

The four people found dead Tuesday in Troy, New York, were, from left to right, Jeremiah Myers, 11, Shanta Myers, 36, Shanise Myers, 5, and Brandi Mells, 22.

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