Sampson County Sheriff Jimmy Thornton said the emergency call came from someone who knows the homeowner. That caller told investigators that four men and one woman were dead inside the home.
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"It shocks the conscience," said Cpt. Eric Pope of the Sampson County Sheriff's Office.
5 bodies found in different rooms of Sampson County home
When deputies arrived, they found bodies belonging to people ranging in ages from 33-73. All of them were found in different rooms of the house.
"This is definitely an unusual day for our county. This a dark day for our county, but our people will persevere and we'll get through," Pope said.
SEE ALSO: 4 separate crime scenes with 8 victims found in Sampson County: 'Resources are strained'
The location where the crime happened is in Clinton off Garland Highway.
Investigators said they consider the shooting targeted, but they did not give any other details about what connected the victims or what lead up to the shooting.
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ABC11 spoke to a cousin of one of the victims, whom he identified as Alfonza -- though he was known by his nickname: Bread.
"He was just a good person. He didn't bother nobody," Bread's cousin said.
The sheriff's office released the names of the victims Friday: Alfonza Jeffers (73), Dagoberto Lopez (33), Hector Salazar Lopez (39), Lamar Williams (58) and Jamie Lynn Rowland (aka Jamie Thompson) (47).
SEE ALSO: 88-year-old dies after assault at NC assisted living facility; former employee charged: Police
ABC11 spoke with an eyewitness who found the bodies and described a horrifying scene saying they saw the bodies in different rooms of the home.
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The sheriff's office said this shooting is not related to two other shootings that took place in the county. In Clinton, officers shot and killed a suspect who pointed a gun at officers as they searched a home. The other was a homicide on Leaf Lane.
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