Father 'shot dead his wife and three children in their bedrooms before turning the gun on himself inside family's $2million Minnesota mansion in gruesome murder-suicide'

• Sources claim that Brian Short, 45, gunned down his wife and teenage children in a bloody killing spree before turning the gun on himself 
• The bodies of Short's wife Karen, 48, son Cole, 17, and daughters Madison, 15, and Brooklyn, 14, were discovered on Thursday in their bedrooms
• Brian Short was reportedly found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the mansion's garage
• The family had not been seen for days and could have been dead for almost a week before they were found
• Police made the grim discovery during a welfare check at the Lake Minnetonka home after the children had not shown up at school

By Chris Spargo For Dailymail.com

Published: 16:57 EST, 11 September 2015 | Updated: 19:45 EST, 11 September 2015

The family of five who were shot dead in a murder-suicide at their $2million lakeside mansion were killed at the hands of father Brian Short, sources say.

Short, 45, was found dead in the garage of the home in Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota, on Thursday. He reportedly died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound - and the weapon was next to his body.

The bodies of his wife Karen, 48, and their three children - son Cole, 17, and daughters Madison, 15, and Brooklyn, 14 - were discovered in their bedrooms. 

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Brian Short (pictured with his wife Karen and in a professional photo) set up AllNurses - a networking website for nurses across the world, killed his family and then himself according to multiple sources

The family (pictured) were found dead on Thursday in different rooms of their luxury home

Cole Short, who was found dead with his sisters and parents, had posted cryptic posts about his relationship with his mother and father on social media in 2013 (above)

Sources who spoke to both the Minneapolis Star Tribune and CBS Minnesota said it was Brian who shot dead his family. 

A law enforcement source also confirmed this claim to KSTP.

Police would not say who the shooter was at a press conference on Friday afternoon - but local Fox reporter Paul Blume reported the locations of the bodies and said that authorities were taking a closer look at Brian's business affairs. 

Officers are still unsure what the motive was for the killings. 

Son Cole had hinted at some family discord in a Facebook account he had until 2013 - writing in a post in September of that year: 'Well my parents officially sent me away friends if you could take notes for me i will let you know the long term plan in like a week.bye.'

He complained about his father Brian in another post, saying; 'Dads are quite abusive I ask nicely for help with a couple little things a several months ago... Still waiting!'

He also wrote: 'Moment when parents don't understand common sense!!' 

Friends of the family said they were shocked to hear about the deaths - and told of how much they loved Brian and Kathy, who were described by many as the perfect parents and couple.

Brian's sister Lori posted on Facebook a photo of him with his family on vacation, and wrote: 'To all my prayer warrior friends.This is my brother and his beautiful family all gone from this earthly life!

'Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers as we learn more information and deal with this tragic loss!'

Cole Short, who was 17 when he died, is seen in a Facebook snap with the family's pet dog Harley

Doug Plocek, who lived on the same block as the Shorts, said he could not believe the scene he saw on Thursday.

'The neighbors went into shock. To me, there was no indication whatsoever how that could have happened,' he said.

'They were good neighbors. This whole thing, we’re trying to wrap our heads around it.

'We’ve never even had a break-in. To have something of this magnitude and it involves children — it just tears me apart.' 

Dave Smits, who along with his wife Kari and children were friends with the Shorts, said he heard about the apparent murder-suicide on Thursday night.

'I went down on one knee. I couldn’t believe it,' he said. 'What a great family.'

He said he had texted Brian on Sunday but never heard back from him. 

Meanwhile the high school where the Short children were students sent out an email to all their parents on Thursday night, saying: 'Our Minnetonka High School family is devastated by the tragic deaths of a family in our community. Because we are a close-knit community, this is will be very upsetting for students, parents and staff alike.'

Grief counselors were being made available to students at the school on Friday.

Karen's brother and Brian's brother both said they were still not ready to speak publicly about the tragedy.

Brian's Facebook page showed the family smiling on vacations and out enjoying their daughter Brooklyn's soccer games.  

Brooklyn (left), her older sister Madison (right) and their brother Cole had reportedly not shown up to school all week, prompting a welfare check on their home

Police arrived at the home around midday on Thursday (pictured) following a welfare check on the family

His company, AllNurses.com, confirmed the deaths in a statement on Thursday.

An unidentified spokesperson for the firm wrote on its website: 'It is with great regret and a very heavy heart that I have to share some very sad news with you. There is no easy way to say this. We just found out this afternoon that Brian and his family have passed away.'  

South Lake Minnetonka Police Chief Mike Siitari said that police were called to the home on Thursday morning when no one was seen or heard from for several days and the children had not shown up for school this week.    

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that after securing a dog on the scene, police found each of the bodies which were all located in different areas of the home. 

The first body discovered by police was found in a bedroom soon after they entered the home.

Another body was found in a lower-level bedroom, one in the garage and two in the basement.

The bodies remained in the house several hours after police arrived. 

'This is a complex crime scene that will take several days to sort through,' said Siitari. 'There’s no words to describe it. It’s a tragedy.'

He said it was the most gruesome scene he had seen during his three decades on the job. 'This is a tough one to handle,' he added.  

Aerial footage showed an upscale home in Greenwood, a tiny village of just a few hundred people on the shores of Lake Minnetonka, about 20 miles west of Minneapolis.

The home was bought for just over $2million four years ago according to Zillow, and had five bedrooms, three bathrooms and an eight-car garage. 

Brooklyn, Madison and Cole are pictured on Facebook on a family day out. A friend said: 'This is just too sad. They were the nicest people in the world. There was nothing snooty about them at all'

Police on the scene found the family dog Harley (above in a social media picture) running around the home

Meanwhile friends of the family expressed their shock at what had happened.

'I can’t even fathom it,' said Kathy Lausche. 'They were just your normal, typical family. Their lives revolved around their kids.'

Toni Plante said she was shocked when she found out Brooklyn, who played for a local soccer team, missed the first day of school and the first soccer game - especially as her parents never missed a match.

'Brooklyn is a really good student, and it wouldn’t be like her to miss the first day of school,' said Plante. 'This is just too sad. They were the nicest people in the world. There was nothing snooty about them at all. They were just down to earth.'

Plante said her daughter and Brooklyn were close, and she worried about having to tell the young girl the news. 'This is going to be tough,' she said.

Neighbor Jeff Bergsten said he was 'shocked' this would happen to such an amazing family.

'[Brian] was a real generous guy with his time and conversation,' said Bergsten. 

As for Karen, she was a 'lovely lady' who was always smiling according to Tami Scribner, a former neighbor.

A former neighbor of the Shorts, Jodie Gorence, also sang the family's praises in an interview with CBS Minnesota. 'They were never showy,' she said. 'They were down-to-earth people. Wealthy people who were down to earth.

'I hope they’re in a better place right now.' 

After securing the pet dog, police found each of the bodies in different areas of the home (above left)

After news of the deaths broke, Greenwood Mayor Debra Kind said:'I hope that people who have suicidal thoughts get help, because this is a tragedy that is not necessary.'

Short was the founder of AllNurses.com, which describes itself as the 'largest peer to peer' nursing website in the world. 

Last year Short told the Star Tribune that he wanted to keep working despite receiving numerous offers from people wanting to buy the website. 'I’ve been offered 50 buyouts in the last 10 years. I’ve turned them all down,' he said. 

'I have so many ideas that I want to enable. At some point maybe I’ll sell — I have no interest in that now. I get a lot of satisfaction knowing that I’ve had an impact on nursing. It’s a very fulfilling career.' 

He reported $1million in annual revenue and 3million unique visitors per month in a 2012 interview with Business Journal. 

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