Emily Long: Toddler survives horrific family quadruple murder-suicide in Madbury, New Hampshire

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT

A toddler has survived a gruesome quadruple murder-suicide that killed his entire family, after his mum fatally shot her husband and her two eldest kids, according to authorities.

Police made the grim discovery of the bodies of Ryan Long, 48, Emily Long, 34, their eight-year-old son, Parker, and their six-year-old daughter, Ryan, in a Madbury home on Monday night after responding to a 911 call.

A three-year-old was found alive inside the home and suffered no physical injuries, New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella confirmed.

In a shocking update, investigators believe Ms Long “took a handgun” from the home, killing her husband and two young children, before turning the gun on herself.

Autopsy results for both children showed they died from single gunshot wounds to the head, while Mr Long, who worked as a school psychologist, died from multiple gunshot wounds.

Ms Long died from a single gunshot wound to her head, Mr Formella confirmed.

“It appears that in the early morning hours of Monday, August 18, 2025, Ms Long took a handgun from the home and caused the deaths of Ryan Long and her two children, Parker and Ryan, and then took her own life immediately thereafter,” the New Hampshire Department of Justice said in a statement.

Police found the family around 8.20 pm Monday after receiving a 911 call from within the home, according to officials.

“While investigators are becoming aware of various concerns/issues ongoing in the household at the time of the event in question, people should avoid speculating that this event was caused by a single reason or stressor,” Mr Formella said.

In the months leading up to the tragedy, Ms Long reportedly posted several videos on social media documenting her husband’s diagnosis with glioblastoma, an aggressive and life-threatening brain tumour.

In the videos, Ms Long spoke about Mr Long’s chemotherapy treatment and the impact it had on her and her children, New Hampshire Public Radio reports.

The community is reeling from the tragic event.

Neighbour Bevy Ketel said she was shocked by the news.

“It was a perfect family as far as we knew,” she told WBZ-TV.

“It’s just shocking. We didn’t see it coming.”

Police are still investigating the motive behind the brutal killings.

“I think investigators still have probably more questions than they have answers,” said Assistant Attorney General Ben Agati.

“One of the biggest questions they have right now is motive. Why?

“And I think that’s probably one of the more difficult things that they are trying to grasp, to understand how this came to be and to be able to be more definitive and to understand what the sequence of events was like inside that house.”

Madbury is located roughly 1.5 hours away from Boston and is home to less than 2000 residents.