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Two Ohio brothers found fatally shot

Police said the boys lived at their grandparents’ home, where the shootings occurred in an upstairs bedroom.Jeremiah Shaver/JACKSON COUNTY TIMES-JOURNAL

JACKSON, Ohio — Two boys found fatally shot in a southern Ohio home were half-brothers who lived together, and investigators do not believe anyone else was involved in their deaths, authorities said Thursday.

Jackson City police identified the boys as Austin Wiseman, 12, and Blake Campbell, 9. Police said they lived at their grandparents’ home, where the shootings occurred Wednesday in an upstairs bedroom.

Authorities have said that the grandparents were away at the time of the deaths, and that a .44-caliber handgun was recovered.

The boys’ bodies were taken to Franklin County, some 65 miles north in Columbus, for autopsies, and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation was examining evidence collected from the home as authorities tried to determine what happened.

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A man at the home who identified himself as an uncle said he had no comment Thursday afternoon. The two-story house is set back slightly from the road in an older neighborhood with a mix of residential houses and businesses.

Shirley Causey, who said her grandson was a cousin and frequent playmate of the older boy, said Austin was protective of his younger brother. She described Austin as so polite that he would not get a drink or snack without asking her permission when visiting.

Property records show the home is owned by James and Deborah Harris, and neighbors said they were the boys’ maternal grandparents.

The grandparents were very loving to the boys, Shirley Causey said.

‘‘They are just very sweet people,’’ she said. ‘‘They just loved those boys so much.’’

Hawker said the grandparents had left the home to take care of some personal business.

ASSOCIATED PRESS