3 children and 1 woman dead after apparent murder-suicide in Chesapeake, police say

Three children and a woman died Thursday morning in what police called an apparent murder-suicide in Chesapeake.

Police were called to the 3000 block of Welcome Road following a call for a welfare check shortly before 7 a.m. Officers learned there was an armed woman in the house and backed off to establish a perimeter.

A tactical team and negotiators were called to the scene and through a conversation that lasted about an hour-and-a-half they learned there were three deceased children in the home, according to a police spokesperson. The tactical team forced entry and found the woman with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, along with the children.

Police have not released the ages of the children or their relationship to the woman, pending notification to their next of kin.

This is a developing story.

Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806, gavin.stone@virginiamedia.com