A veteran police officer has choked up while detailing how a 10-year-old boy witnessed an apparent murder-suicide in which two men died and a woman was hospitalised.
Two men, including the alleged shooter have died in the incident, and a woman is in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police were called to a Devonport house at about 1am on Saturday after receiving reports of gunshots.
Speaking at a press conference on Saturday morning, Detective Inspector Kim Steven said a 10-year-old boy, one of two children in the house at the time, witnessed "a fair portion of what occurred".
"There's no winners out of these things."
Emergency responders are also receiving support after witnessing the incident, which Detective Inspector Steven described as "pretty confronting" after viewing body-worn camera footage from the first responding officers himself.
The alleged shooter turned the weapon on himself shortly after police arrived, and was "barely alive" when officers entered the house, Detective Inspector Steven said.
The woman was in a "serious but stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries".
The two children were in the house at the time and have been taken to hospital for assessment.
The children have been placed in the care of their grandmother.
Detective Inspector Steven said officers who attended the scene would receive ongoing support.
Detective Inspector Steven said the relationships between the three people would be a matter for the coroner, but said they were known to each other.
Detective Inspector Steven said the situation unfolded "very quickly" and police were still investigating the alleged shooter's movements before arriving at the house, and how he came to possess the gun.
Detective Inspector Steven would not specify the type of firearm used in the shootings.
He said a significant police presence would remain at the house for all of Saturday, and likely into Sunday.
Detective Inspector Steven ended his press conference by urging people to "give your kids a hug, be kind to each other".
Neighbours speak after tragedy
Neighbour Helen Learmonth said she did not hear the incident occur, but woke up to flashing lights.
"It makes me very sad, this sort of thing happens far too often and my heart goes out to the children especially as they witnessed it," she said.
Another neighbour, Chris Tierney, said Devonport "used to be a nice, quite area" but a number of recent incidents had made him and his wife feel unsafe.
"I've got security cameras, I've had rocks thrown at me, I've been abused by five-year-old kids, it's not nice," he said.
"It's a good area, but that's the way the whole of Devonport is going I think."
