Updated

Four people were found dead Friday morning in two neighboring homes outside of Liberty after a man called his mother and told her he was going to kill himself, Pickens County Assistant Sheriff Tim Morgan said.

Officers rushed to the homes around 6:30 a.m. after the call from a relative of the mother, finding two bodies inside the man's home, and two more bodies next door. All the victims had apparently been shot, Morgan said.

Investigators were still gathering evidence, but all signs so far point toward the man killing three people, then committing suicide, Morgan said.

"I don't think there's any danger of the community at this point. I don't think there is any reason to be alarmed," Morgan said.

The victims and the shooter appear to all be related, but Morgan said he was waiting for the coroner's office before releasing names, ages or genders of the dead. The coroner's office did not return messages from The Associated Press.

Deputies also have not determined a motive for the killings, Morgan said.

The homes are about five miles outside Liberty, in an area of mixed farms and suburban residences in the state's west.