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A family member says two boys and their father are dead after a murder-suicide in a Spruce Grove home on Monday morning.

“I’m going to say it as blunt as I can — that coward of a guy took the life of his two young boys and then himself,” said Brent Stark, the boys’ stepfather, who had been helping raise them since they were aged two and four.

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“They were great kids. Lots of ambition, lots of charisma, loved sports. Life was a happy place for them,” said Stark.

The boys, aged 11 and 13, split their time between their father in Spruce Grove and Stark’s home in Whitecourt.

Mounties were called to the home, located on the edge of a quiet cul-de-sac on the corner of Hanley Court and Hanley Landing, just after 10:30 a.m.

Alexis Haines, who lives across from the home, said a man and two children lived there. She said they were a friendly family that was always enjoying the outdoors, whether it was boating, quadding or camping.

Police haven’t released the names of anyone involved.

Late Monday afternoon, police confirmed autopsies were scheduled for Tuesday.

Police officers could be seen removing guns from the home and one officer told CTV News they were being taken in as evidence, but wouldn’t confirm if they had anything to do with the incident.

As the afternoon drew on, neighbourhood school children began milling around as Mounties began knocking on doors.

Once police allowed pedestrians access to Hanley Court, residents of the quiet Hilldowns neighbourhood, located north of Grove Drive, wandered up and down the street, occasionally stopping to chat with each other.

A bitterly cold wind fluttered the yellow police tape and pushed an unsecured wooden gate to sometimes crash against the side of the house.

Behind the tape and RCMP vehicles, a blue Dodge Ram 4X4 remained parked in the driveway next to three snowmobiles on an unhitched trailer.