Police in Northern Ireland have launched a murder investigation after a woman and two children from the same household died in a shooting.

A man who was seriously injured in the incident on Wednesday morning is being treated at hospital.

Police sealed off the Drummeer Road area of Maguiresbridge, a village 8 miles (13km) from Enniskillen, in County Fermanagh, and said there was no ongoing risk to the public.

Supt Robert McGowan told a press conference that all four people were from the same household and suffered gunshot wounds, and detectives were “working at pace to determine the circumstances”.

The suspect had a “limited footprint” with police, said McGowan. “This is a quiet, rural location and I am aware that this tragic event will have sent waves of sadness throughout the community.”

The ambulance service said it had received a call at 8.21am and dispatched emergency crews to the scene, where a woman and child were pronounced dead. An air ambulance took the injured man to the Royal Victoria hospital in Belfast and an ambulance took the other casualty to South West Acute hospital in Enniskillen, where the child was pronounced dead.

Politicians expressed shock and sadness.

“My thoughts are with the victims and their families at this tragic time,” said Pat Cullen, the Sinn Féin MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone. “I would urge people to not speculate on the details of this tragic and shocking incident.”

Deborah Erskine, a Democratic Unionist party assembly member, said the community was stunned. “The area of Maguiresbridge where this has happened is a rural, quiet area and everyone is deeply affected by what has happened,” she said. “My deepest condolences are with the families of those who have been killed as a result of this incident. Their lives have been turned upside down this morning.”

The former DUP leader Arlene Foster, who grew up near the area, said: “I am so very sorry for the family involved and praying for all impacted by this horrific act.”

Hilary Benn, the secretary of state for Northern Ireland, said the news was tragic and deeply distressing.