A Florida man has killed six of his grandchildren before taking his own life. Gilchrist County Sheriff Robert Schultz said the children ranged in age from three months to 10 years.

The killer was identified as 51-year-old Don Spirit.

He reportedly called emergency services threatening to harm himself and others.

A deputy sent to investigate made contact with Spirit, who then shot himself dead. Several people were reportedly left alive at the address.

Mr Schultz was quoted by NBC as saying that police had "been out to that residence on numerous law-enforcement occasions".

He added: "I haven’t handled something like this at all. And to say this community is not going to be devastated by this ... for a small county, we’re all family here.

"There’s certain things in life you can explain, there’s some things you can't. This is something you can't explain."