Police today arrested a family member who called police to report finding seven people dead in a mobile home in Georgia.
Glynn County Police Chief Matt Doering said Guy Heinze Jr (22) was arrested last night and charged with illegal possession of prescription drugs and marijuana, tampering with evidence and making false statements.
"He was a family member who came home and discovered (the victims), at least that's what he told us," Mr Doering said.
Asked if police believe Heinze was involved in the deaths, Mr Doering said: "I'm not going to characterise him as a suspect."
He also said police didn't know whether more than one person was involved.
Police have released few details about the mass slaying in Brunswick, Georgia. Seven people were found dead along with two critically injured survivors inside a mobile home at a trailer park built on the grounds of a historic plantation.
Post-mortems were being conducted today by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The two surviving victims remained in critical condition at a hospital, Mr Doering said.
Police have not released the victims' names or said how they died, but Doering said investigators have ruled out those found dead or injured as having committed the killings.
"We're comfortable that none of those nine were involved with this assault," he said.
Investigators were talking to neighbours about whether they saw or heard anything unusual.
Police had not been able to speak with the survivors, who may be the only witnesses.
All seven bodies were tentatively identified and Doering said families of the victims had been notified, but he would not release any names or ages before receiving the post-mortem results. He had previously said that he didn't know their ages, but that some were older while others were in their teens.
AP