On Tuesday, April 11, North Carolina mom Ethal Steele reportedly killed her three children before fatally shooting herself in what appears to be a murder-suicide. According to WXLV, the incident took place around noon on Brookhill Drive in Winston-Salem. Officials stated that this was an isolated case and there is no further threat to the community.Trigger warning: This article concerns a mass killing, the reader's discretion is advised.Lucid Thinker@LucidThinker_1Ethal Syretha Steele, 40, of Winston-Salem, deceased from what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.Her children, ages 9, 12 and 14, were also found dead from apparent gunshot wounds.1Ethal Syretha Steele, 40, of Winston-Salem, deceased from what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.Her children, ages 9, 12 and 14, were also found dead from apparent gunshot wounds.In an official statement, Ethal Steele's family requested the public not to speculate about the circumstances leading to the deaths.Wanda Caton, Ethal Steele's aunt, said:"What drove this thing? We don't know, but we ask from the bottom of our hearts. Let the police do their jobs. Don't have the rumors going."The children who died in the incident have been identified as Sakenlo Shawn Steele Jr., 14, Sakenya Syretha Steele, 12, and Sakendra Syann Steele, 9. Officials believe that the mother shot Sakendra first, before turning the gun on Sakenya. She supposedly killed Sakenlo Shawn Steele last.Officials and family members speak out about the death of Ethal Steele and her childrenAt a press conference, local authorities said that they entered Ethal Steele's home shortly after neighbors reported a shooting in the area. When officials arrived, the house was quiet, and all the doors were closed. Subsequently, they forced entry into the home only to discover the four bodies deceased at the scene. All of the victims had died of gunshot wounds. They later noted that during the course of the murder-suicide, Ethal Steele was on a Facetime call with an unknown person who witnessed the brutal scene.Michelle Grabaszewski@MGrabaszewski@901Lulu This is such a sad world we live in. It breaks your heart.@901Lulu 😢 This is such a sad world we live in. It breaks your heart.In a statement to reporters, Wanda Caton said that even if the incident is confirmed to be a murder-suicide, the tragic crime is not representative of who the deceased truly is. She said that the victim had been a nurse who juggled her career with homeschooling her children.Caton said:“Ethal was a beautiful, well-educated, loving mother, loving sister, loving daughter, who took care to the utmost of her children."In an interview with Fox8, Ethal's godbrother said that everything appeared to be normal. The family had just returned from a vacation to Florida. Neighbors said that when they saw police swarming around the house, they never guessed that the local mother would have hurt her own children.MIRCHI9@Mirchi9Another shooting in the U.S, just another day.!! A mother shot and killed her 3 children, then herself in a murder-suicide in Winston-Salem, North Carolina8517Another shooting in the U.S, just another day.!! A mother shot and killed her 3 children, then herself in a murder-suicide in Winston-Salem, North Carolina https://t.co/MLZHHTeDeJNeighbor Angela Steele said:“This happened in my neighbourhood. You don’t want to see this. You see this on the news, and…it is another neighbourhood. For it to happen here in our neighbourhood, is very concerning. It’s close to home.”The murder-suicide currently remains under investigation by Winston-Salem authorities. They do not believe that there were any other suspects involved in the crime.