In the quiet town of Madbury, New Hampshire, a family was shattered by unthinkable tragedy. Emily Long, 34, fatally shot her husband and two young children before turning the gun on herself, but left one child alive. Now, haunting videos and emotional posts may offer insight into what led to the devastating murder-suicide.

A Family on the Brink

According to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, the killings occurred in the early morning hours of August 18. Emily allegedly shot her husband, Ryan Long, 48, multiple times, then shot their children, Parker, 8, and Ryan, 6, once each in the head before dying by suicide. A handgun was found nearby.

Their 3-year-old son was found unharmed in the home. He’s now in the care of family.

In her final days, Emily openly documented her family’s unraveling on TikTok: her husband’s glioblastoma diagnosis, her children’s behavioral struggles, mounting financial pressure, and a deepening sense of isolation.

“All I want to do is hide under a blanket with my kids,” she said in one post. “But that’s not healthy for them or for me.”

Too Young to Understand — and Possibly to Die

In a chilling detail, Emily’s last video referenced her toddler’s confusion about their father’s condition.

“He’s too young for therapy… he doesn’t understand what’s going on,” she said. “Last night he just couldn’t sleep. He was crying and stirring all night.”

That observation has led friends and followers to speculate whether his innocence is what saved him.

“I don’t know why she spared him,” a family friend said. “I can’t make sense of it.”

Social Media as a Cry for Help

Emily’s TikTok feed painted a raw portrait of a mother in emotional freefall. In one post, she said:

“I feel very, very lonely. I feel so anxious. I know that I will [get help] one day, and I hope that I make the decision before I feel that it’s too late.”

In another: “My thoughts are racing. I can’t get them out of my head.”

She often recorded herself crying in her car after dropping her kids at school or camp. “Oh my God, my husband’s going to die. My kids aren’t going to have a dad. We’re going to have no money.”

Hours before the murders, she reportedly saved clothing and nail designs on Pinterest, an eerie gesture that suggests a state of surreal normalcy.

Despite these warning signs, friends say the violence was unimaginable. “Emily had a network of friends who knew what she was going through, and even so, we were caught completely off guard,” one said.

Grief, Guilt, and Confusion

Ryan Long, a school psychologist, was reportedly undergoing chemotherapy in the weeks before his death. Authorities said his illness was not the only issue in the home, cautioning against attributing the tragedy to a single cause. Friends later noted that the family had been under financial strain and that Emily had recently left her job.

“While investigators are aware of various ongoing issues, no single cause has been identified,” said the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office.

Emily had previously described the painful ritual of putting her three children to bed alone:

“I shut the door to the final kid and I’m totally by myself. I have no one to talk about my day with.”

Autopsies confirmed that Mr. Long was shot multiple times, while both children died from single gunshot wounds to the head; Emily’s death was ruled a suicide.

A GoFundMe has been launched to support the toddler as he grows up without his parents and siblings.