4 members of Sikh family shot dead in US

Four members of a Sikh family, including three women, have been fatally shot in their home in the United States, authorities said.

The victims who died of gunshot wounds in their home in a suburban Ohio community were found by another relative who called the police, West Chester Police chief Joel Herzog said.

"My wife and three other family members were on the ground and bleeding... they're bleeding from the head," a man said on the 911 call that was released by the police.

"No one's talking, no one's talking," he shouted.

A local religious leader on Monday identified the deceased to Cincinnati Enquirer as Hakikat Singh Panag, 59, his wife, Paramjit Kaur, 62, their daughter, Shalinder Kaur, 39, and his sister-in-law, Amarjit Kaur, 58.

The were all shot to death around 9:50 p.m (local time) on Sunday, the report said.

However, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj ruled out the possibility of a hate crime.

"Indian Ambassador in United States @IndianEmbassyUS has informed me about the killing of four persons in Cincinnati on Sunday evening. One of them was an Indian national on a visit to US while others were persons of Indian origin," she tweeted.

The matter is under investigation by police, but it is not a hate crime, Swaraj said.

"Our Consul General in New York is coordinating with the concerned authorities and will keep me informed me on this," she said.

The Indian consulate in New York on its official Twitter account said the officials were in "constant touch" with the West Chester Township Police and the family.

"We are confident about the culprit being brought to book," the Indian consulate assured in one of the tweets.