ISLAMABAD, May 1: A man gunned down his three family members and later took his life in the same manner here on Wednesday, the police said.

The police ruled out the involvement of any outside hand and were confident that the head of the family was responsible for the murders.

“We found a pistol lying near the body of the man,” police said.

Apparently all the victims received bullets from the same pistol, but it was sent for forensic test to establish the fact, the police added.

In the horrific incident, the man spared his seven-year-old son.

He did call his son from the nearby Masjid, where he went to learn Quran, but when he reached home he was asked to wait outside.

The incident took place in Sector I-10/2 where Afzal Raza, a native of Chakwal, shifted some 18 months ago from Karachi.

In Karachi, he used to work with a pharmaceutical company as a sales representative, the police added. The police have contacted the victims’ relatives to establish the fact behind the killings.

The preliminarily investigation suggested that he was operating a computer shop at Dubai Plaza in Rawalpindi, but the business was running in loss, the police added. His children were school going, studying from class seven to nine.

The reason behind the brutal act is yet to be ascertained and nothing was found in written. Police were of the view that the incident was the result of some domestic or financial issue.

The police found an SMS from his mobile sent to a number saying: “It was his last message,” the police quoted a part of the SMS (Small Message Service).

Earlier, the police found the man and his wife’s bodies lying in drawing room, while Fatima and Yusra were found in a room.

During inspection of the bodies, Yusara was found breathing, and was immediately taken to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The police said that the son, Ahmed Raza, a student of seventh class, told them that his father came to the Masjid and told him: “All is lost”, and took him home.

He told the police that upon arrival at home his father asked him to wait outside he would return after changing shirt.

But when his father went inside the house he heard gunshot, the police said while quoting Ahmed.

In the light of information, the police said that the man shot his wife and daughters – Fatima 17 and Yusra 14 – and later called his son home and committed suicide.

The police said that apparently it looked like killings by the head who later committed suicide, but they would investigate the incident from all aspects to ascertain whether any outside hand was involved in the incident or it was done by the family head.