The assailant broke into three separate houses overnight Monday in the village of Zavyalovka, in the Dnipropetrovsk region, about 370 kilometers southeast of Kiev, said Mikhaylo Ludohovsky, spokesman for the regional police.
Among those killed were a 7-year-old boy and two girls, ages 11 and 13. The chief suspect is the brother of one of the four adult victims, Ludohovsky said.
The suspect has been in prison five times for crimes including rape and illegal possession of weapons, the spokesman said.
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