Community leaders say a Suffolk village is in "shock" as police launched a double murder investigation after two women were stabbed to death.
Emergency services were called to Heath Estate in Great Waldingfield, near Sudbury, at about 9.55am on Thursday.
Police gained entry to a property and found two women with stab wounds.
They were pronounced dead at the scene, while a seriously injured man was also found at the property and detained.
He was taken to hospital by air ambulance, where he remains in a serious condition.
Police are treating the two deaths as murders and have launched an investigation into the incident.
A Home Office post-mortem examination for the two women is due to take place in the coming days.
Heath Estate was cordoned off by police for several hours after the incident, with residents in neighbouring properties removed from their homes due to a gas leak in the area.
Renuka Baldwin, chair of Great Waldingfield Parish Council, said: "The Parish Council and our community are deeply saddened and still in shock, by the tragic events that unfolded in our beautiful quiet village yesterday.
"Our thoughts and prayers go to the friends and families who knew the two women whose lives were so brutally cut short in such awful circumstances.
"We waited anxiously for any news whilst we watched a huge police presence blocking access to the area with ambulances and fire engines.
"We are an amazing caring community, who will take time to come to terms with what’s happened so close to where we all live."
Margaret Maybury, Babergh district councillor for Lavenham ward, which includes Great Waldingfield, said: "It's a very sad occasion and, whatever has happened, it's sad that it has happened in such a tight-knit community.
"The estate it happened in is quite small and the people who love there know each other.
"People are very shocked – especially the neighbours who were forced to be removed from their properties. I want to say thanks to the bowls club after they opened their doors to people affected.
"I just hope that if anyone in the village is in need, they can approach someone. I am on the end of the phone.
"You don't expect things to happen in such a small, rural area – it's a tragedy."
Philip Faircloth-Mutton, Suffolk county councillor for Sudbury East and Waldingfield, added: "This is a terrible tragedy, especially for a warm and close community like Great Waldingfield, which I know will be deeply shocked at yesterday’s events.
"I offer my sincere condolences to the family, friends and neighbours of those involved."
Anyone with information related to the incident is urged to contact the Major Investigation Team at Suffolk police on 101, quoting crime reference number 37/57943/22.
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