Six dead, including mother and baby, in possible drug settlement in US

Six dead on a farmyard in a possible drug settlement in the US state of California. Among the victims are a 17-year-old woman and her six-month-old baby.

Authorities speak of a “horrific massacre”. The sheriff of Tulare County, located in the middle of the state, suspects that the murders are related to the illegal drug trade. Last week, the property was searched, where a person was arrested and drugs and weapons were seized, among other things.

“We suspect this is a message and that this family was targeted,” Sheriff Mike Boudreaux told the Los Angeles Times. The gunmen are still on the run; police are hunting at least two suspects.

When officers arrived at the yard, some of the victims were lying on the street. Others were found in a house, including an elderly woman who had been executed in her bed. The mother and child were found in a ditch next to the house. Both had been shot in the head.

The sheriff believes experienced hitmen, probably from a drug cartel, are behind the murders.