Three young children in search of food guided police to the lifeless bodies of their parents in what appears to be a murder-suicide, Texas authorities reported.

The children, aged 1, 2, and 3, were left alone for possibly over a day following the fatal shootings, according to Houston Police Department Lt. Larry Crowson, as reported by KHOU’s Maria Aguilera. Officers were dispatched to the location at 10940 Meadowglen Lane on Monday evening.

The children approached their neighbors in the apartment complex’s parking area “asking for food,” stated Crowson. Officers reached the site around 4:15 p.m. Once there, the children reportedly informed them that their parents were deceased inside the apartment.

The children “were found unharmed and are receiving care,” noted the police department on Monday. However, neighbors mentioned that the kids were outside in the hot weather for several hours.

Preliminary indications are that the father shot the mother, Crowson added, per the local CBS affiliate.

The identities of the deceased man and woman, each 26 years old, have yet to be disclosed; investigators continued on Tuesday to verify the deaths as a murder-suicide and ensure there was no danger to others.

The children are reportedly being cared for by their grandmother.

“The little ones were clearly in need of food and water,” recounted neighbor Deborah McMillan to ABC affiliate KTRK. “The eldest child affects me deeply because of the detailed account she gave of witnessing her parents’ demise.”

The neighbor suggested to the outlet that she was aware domestic violence was taking place in the apartment across from hers.

“She came over a few times, asking to use the phone. I would talk to her, try to tell her, ‘Hey, it’s not worth it,'” McMillan said. “Her main thing is that she didn’t want to leave because of the kids.”